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MEXICO? 



SI, SENOR. 



7 

THOS. L. ROGERS, 



' Space there is for all to travel, 
Theretore is the world so wide." 

IVilkelm Meister 



REVISED EDITION. -' «. j^^^^ 

BOSTON : 
1894, 




Coi'YKIGHTED, 1894, 
HV 

Mkxican Central Railway (Jo., 
Limited. 



RNCRAVKU AStt I'KINTKl) AT COLIJNS FKKSS, BOS' 




,i 



MEXICO ? SI, SENOR. 



CAUTION. 




^O avoid disappointment, don't expect 
too much ! This book is not intended 
to be a History of Mexico. It does 
not contain even all that the writer 
knows about that country; and what 
he does not know would fill several 
large volumes. Its purpose is to call 
attention to some of the places and 
things in Mexico that are both worth 
seeing and worth going to see. 

The towns mentioned lying north 
of the city of Mexico are on the 
Mexican Central Railway, the main line of which runs through 
the centre of the country 1,224 miles, from Juarez, the border 
city on the Rio Grande, opposite El Paso, Texas, to the capital. 
One branch or division of the road, 415 miles in length, connects 
the capital with Tampico, the only good harbor on the Gulf of 
Mexico. Another division reaches out 161 miles westward from 
the main line to Guadalajara, the second largest city in the 
country, and will, one of these days, be extended to the Pacific. 
Two other branches serve the two great mining cities, Guanajuato 
and Pachuca, This great central thoroughfare is the principal 
railway of the Republic, and the only line of standard gauge 
connecting the city of Mexico with the United States. The 
Mexican Central Railway Company operates, at the present 



time, 1,846 miles of road, passing through eleven states and the 
Federal r3istrict, and serving cities, towns, and states which 
contain over 6,000,000 people, more than half the population of 
the whole country. In road-bed, bridges, and equipment this 
line offers the best ; its whole management is first-class in every 
respect. Whoever makes the trip to and from Mexico over this 
line only will see a large part of the country, and learn a vast 
amount about its people and their institutions. 

The cities and towns mentioned here lying beyond the capital, 
south or east or west, are reached by the National, the Mexican, 
the Interoceanic, or the Valley railways, or by the street car lines 
from the city. 

From among the many excursions made and places visited 
we have selected for comment only those which are most inter- 
esting and inviting to the average tourist ; and it has been our 
aim to say about those only just enough to convince any one who 
is fond of travel, who has a desire to see this beautiful country 
and the picturesque people who live in it, that the few scenes 
referred to are, of themselves alone, worth a much longer journey 
and a much greater expenditure of time, money, and trouble 
than they cost. 

The \vriter claims to be only a " looker-on " in Mexico ; but as 
he looked on in twenty of the twenty-nine political divisions, 
and in more than half of the towns of the country having a 
population of over five thousand each, and as he looked last on 
the capital, Nov. 8, 1892, he may safely claim that he has seen 
something of Mexico as it is to-day. 

A second caution like unto the first, and yet unlike it, may not 
be out of place. It is this : — 

To avoid disappointment, don't expect too little. The im- 
pression has gone abroad that the traveller in Mexico cannot 
get enough to eat. Doubtless many of the natives of the 
country do not have four, or even three " square meals" a day, 
but the reason is not a lack of plenty in the country. The 



average tourist keeps to the line or spends his time in the large 
towns, and no one with money enough to pay for meals need 
worry at all about lack of satisfactory provision for his wants. 
Along the Central road the eating places compare favorably with 
those along the railroads west of the Missouri River, and the 
management is rapidly improving them. So much for comfort 
along the Hne ; and as for the cities and towns, it may be said 
that they have been slandered by those who expected too much, 
and so were, of course, disappointed. The wonder is, taking all 
things into account, that the traveller can fare so well, for so 
little money, in Mexico. 

And, further, don't worry about the language. You don't 
speak Spanish ? Well, no matter, the Mexicans will speak it for 
you. You speak your English, and they'll get your meaning if 
there's any money in it. You'll have lots of fun watching them 
interpret your remarks. Keep cool ; be patient ; use signs in- 
stead of words, and you'll be surprised to see how well you'll get 
along. But let me say this is not a case where " a little learning 
is a dangerous thing " ; a little knowledge of the Spanish lan- 
guage is a very valuable thing in Mexico for the traveller from 
the States, but even that is not indispensable, 

MEMORANDUM. 

Things to take : Time, patience, money. 

Things to leave : Hurry, worry, work. 

If so be that you shall heed the above cautions, and provide 
for your journey " as per memorandum," you cannot fail to have 
a good time in Mexico. Si, Senor ! 



" Huine-keejiinj^ ymitli have ever homely wits." 

'J'~co Gt-nlleinen of I'i'roiia. 

ROIJABIA', if people knew that Mex- 
ico is the finest summer resort on 
the continent, they would go there 
in July as they now do in January." 
" Summer resort ! Mexico ! I 
ne\ er heard of such an idea ! " 
" I presume you never did, 
■ my friend, l)ut it is a foct that 
in July, August, and September, 
our hottest months, the temper- 
ature of the city of Mexico is de- 
SUT ■^^8!9^'Y*'^3i?*^^ ' hghtful, and so is that of the whole 
II '^'w* f ^^^ ' ^^^]^ ! pl^^c^i'^- Summer is the best time 

to visit the country, lea\ ing out of 
account the places on the coast." 
"You surprise me, Major, but how does it happen? That 
country is very far south." 

" Klevation. That word tells the story. When you get 
above the ocean level six, seven, eight thousand feet, ' south ' 
doesn't seem to count for much. You know that many of the 
'eternal snow ' peaks are in the vicinity of the ei[uator. Alti- 
tude beats latitude, every time." 




" Well, you have given me a new idea, and in good time, for 
I am under contract to give my boys a trip abroad this summer, 
I think I'll suggest to them three months in Mexico." 

" You can't do better, my friend, and I will re-enforce your 
suggestion, for I am going there myself; and if you will put them 
in my charge, I shall be delighted to have their company. I 
love those boys." 

"That settles it, then. They love you too, and they often 
have wished that they could go on some trip with you. Do 
you really mean it. Major? " 

"Never was more serious in my life." 

" I'm delighted to hear you say so. It seems almost too good 
to be true that they can have such a chance, and at once. When 
do you go ? " 

" In a few days ; say a week from to-day." 

" Good ; that will give us time to get them ready. What about 
clothes? They want a summer outfit I suppose, light all round? " 

" Oh no, not light ; and no straw hats ! I arrived in the 
capital once with a straw hat, but as I didn't see any one wearing 
that kind of a tile, I shed mine the next day and wore a Derby 
ever after. No, summer clothes in Mexico are just such clothes 
as we wear in Boston in the spring and autumn. There is 
seldom an evening when a light overcoat is not needed, and 
never a night when a blanket is not comfortable, and even 
necessary in Mexico." 

" The boys can be ready in two days, if you are in any hurry." 

" No hurry. In the land of 7iia7ia?ia, to which we are going, 
my friend, there is a law against haste, and I would not violate 
that law even here in this land of rush." 

" Why, Major, I believe you have become a real Mexican ; 
that isn't American doctrine. You know our creed is ' hustle 
or get left.' " 

" Yes, I know it, but lots of hustlers get left too. I believe in 
the happy medium, the golden mean, that wise worldly old 



Horace praised so much ; and I think the peo- 
ple of this lovely land of Mexico know a thing 
or two. They have given an affirmative answer 
to the question of Longfellow : — 

' Do you not know that what is best 
In all this restless world is rest 
From turmoil and from worry? ' " 

"That is good poetry, and I don't know but 
it is also good philosophy, Major ; but it won't 
work here." 

" It ought to work, at least in the summer, 
and I am going where it will work." 
J ?'i "I wish I could go with you. But next to 

going myself will be the thought that the boys 
are having such a fine time, and the pleasure 
of hearing them and you 'tell us all about it' 
when you return. I must rush off now and tell 
them of their good fortune for this Columbian 
year." 

" My good fortune too, if you please. I 
shall enjoy their company as much as they 
can enjoy the excursion." 

This conversation, at the Algonquin, be- 
tween Major Teller and his friend, Mr. New- 
ton, resulted in the formation of a party for 
a summer tour through Mexico. The party 
consisted of the Major and the two boys, 
Howard and Clardner. The Major told the 
boys that he was not willing to be the only 
titled one of the party, anil that for the pur- 
poses of this trij) or campaign, if you like, 
Howard should be a cajitain, and Gardner a 
little corporal. 



8 



After recovery from the duties and pleasures of the "glorious 
Fourth," the party started from Boston, July 8, 1S92. 

There is no better preparation for a trip in a foreign land than 
a long journey in one's own country. Happily such a journey is 
a necessity for the great majority of Americans who wish to visit 
Mexico. To those who make, for the first time, the excursion 
from the Atlantic to the Rio Grande every hour is a revelation 
of the beauty and of the greatness of the best country in the 
world. To those who make the trip for the hundredth time, it 
will still be a revelation of the surprising growth and prosperity 
of the people who live under the Stars and Stripes. 

" Westward the course of empire takes its way," said the good 
and wise Bishop Berkeley. How true a prophet he was, only he 
who follows that course can know. What " the West " means 
words cannot tell. Can language convey to a blind man what 
"color" means, or to a deaf man the meaning of music ? No 
more can the pen of the most " ready writer" adequately de- 
scribe our country. Give to each valley a volume, to each State 
a shelf, and to our land a whole library in way of description, 
and yet the half would not be told. One must see it or not 
know it, and see it often, too, for its rapid growth makes it 
practically a new and another W^est every ten years. 

America astonishes the world. To the world the United 
States is America, and it is the duty as well as the pleasure of 
every citizen of our great Republic to see and to study, first of 
all, his own country. The school on wheels is the only first- 
class teacher. Consider for a moment what a lesson in geog- 
raphy, in history, in political economy a trip of three thousand 
miles across our country can be made to convey. There is 
nothing else in the world equal to it for pleasure or profit in 
way of education. Well did Cowper understand this when he 
said : — 

" How much a dunce that hath been sent to roam 
Excels a dunce that hath been kept at home." 



The journey from lioston was full of never-ceasing interest to 
the boys, ami everywhere the evidences of progress were both in- 
structive and entertaining;, and the Major's time was very fully occu- 
l)ied in answerinj^ their numerous cjuestions. As Mexico is their 
objective ]>oint, howe\er, we will omit the details of this i)art of the 
journey and consider the party to ha\ e at length arrived at El Paso. 

" ' One more river to cross,' " said the C'orporal exultantly, "and 
we will be in the land (jf pretty soon, by and by, i/iaTiana, and 
poto-tiempoy 

" Ves, the land of sunshine and adobe and burros," added the 
Captain. 

" Right, both of you," said the Major,; " it is that, and much 
more. It will be the greater wonder to you for this journey 
through our own country. Vou will each constantly ask your- 
selves the question, Why is this so? Why is Mexico, which is so 
much older than our country, what she is, and not more like our 
own? Why have a thousand years done so little for her, and why 
have three hundred, we might almost say one hundred, years 
made the United States the greatest nation on the globe ? .\ 
question worthy of careful study." 

" It is vacation. Major, but th's kind of study is just to my 
liking," said the Captain. " I don't cpiite see what Emerson 
meant when he said, 'Travel is a fool's paradise.' I'erhaps I 
am one of the fools, but, certainly, this trip has been a ]terfect 
paradise for me thus far." 

"And to me, too," added the Corporal. " I've learned more 
about the United States than I ever knew before, to say nothing 
of the fun we have had while learning." 

The conversation was interrupted by an exclamation from 
the Corporal, " There's El Paso, I see the smoke of a factory I " 

" It must be the silver factory then," said the Major, " that is 
the smelting works. Yes, here we are, safe and sound, and no 
more tired than when we left home." 



lo 



" I feel as fresh as a daisy," said the Corporal. 

"And I am all right, too," added the Captain. 

" How about something to eat? " asked the Major. 

" Not hungry," said both boys. " We fared sumptuously every 
day. How comforting it was," said the Captain, " to have the 
restaurant man come round and say, ' Don't hurry, you have ten 
minutes yet.' " 

"And how nice," said the Corporal, " to have one of the girls 
say, 'Have a little more chicken?' or 'Will you have hot 
cakes?'" 

" Yes, that is nice," said the Captain ; " I wish we may find it 
as nice along the Mexican Central." 

" You'll find it so," answered the Major, "or as nearly so as 
circumstances will allow. You'll have no occasion to complain, 
I am quite sure. You'll find plenty to eat and always half an hour 
for meals." 

" And here is El Paso," exclaimed the Captain, " and here 
and now rageth the dog star." 

" Let him rage," replied the Major, as the party stepped into 
the station. " This is the middle of July, and it is his time to 
rage. He won't have us but one day at most, and I am willing 
to bet that it is not as hot in El Paso to-day as it is in Boston. 
We'll leaAC our baggage here, for from this station we shall 
start to-morrow for the capital of the Montezumas." 




II 



II. 



"Thou art not for the fashion of these times." 

As You Like It. 

"The old order changeth, yielding place to new." 

The Pitssittg of ArlJiur, 

^TAXDIXCj on the bridge over the Rio 
Grande, the Major, pointing towards 
the south, said to his companions, 
" Yonder is the land of wonders ; to- 
morrow we shall enter it, a land which 
excites the admiration of every visitor 
of intelligence. Its past history is 
so mysterious, its present is so promis- 
ing, and its possibilities for the future 
are so vast that the thoughtful mind 
has the widest range both backward 
and forward. One sees here a giant 
touched by a spirit which rouses him from a sleep of centuries 
and reveals to him at the same time what he did not seem to 
know before, namely, that he is indeed a giant. No country in 
the world, perhaps, has greater natural resources, the raw ma- 
terial of wealth, than Mexico, but until recently those resources 
have not been available. Now the railroads have brought the 
mountains and the valleys into communication witli the world, 
and Mexico has a marvellous future. We are to look at Mexico 
as tourists. We may be called sentimental travellers, for we 
are not on any particular business. We are simply sight-seers 
in search of entertainment, and we shall surely find it, if we 




14 



keep our eyes open. You boys will be Howard and Clardner, 
or, beg pardon, the Captain and Corporal in 'Wonderland.' 
You will wonder at what you see and at what you don't see. 
A walk of half a mile from this bridge will reveal to you as 
strange scenes as you would find in Cairo or Calcutta. It 
will introduce you into what will seem almost another world, 
so different from our own are the customs, the costumes, and 
the characteristics of the people even here on the border line." 

" And this is the Rio Grande ! " exclaimed the Corporal. "The 
name sounds bigger than the river looks." 

" Well, I must really apologize for the Rio Grande. I don't 
think he expected company to-day. This is no fair sample. 
You remember as we came along we saw, in certain places, quite 
a stream, but just here it is mostly out of sight. In fact, the 
river seems to be upside down. It will happen so once in 
a while, and besides, that is the fashion with many of these 
streams in the far West. They go 'on a tear' part of the 
year, and then take a rest, a siesta, so to speak. But the 
Rio Grande never gets lost. You have seen it above, and 
if you should go below here a hundred miles you would see 
how it has tunnelled its way through opposing rocks, and defied 
the everlasting hills to stop it on its way to the sea. Should you 
see the result of the battle at the caiion you would think it 
worthy of the name of ' grande,' and of its other title, ' bravo.' " 

"And how about El Paso? That means 'the pass,' I sup- 
pose," said the Captain. " I don't see anything that looks 
like a pass here." 

" No, you cannot, but the place is properly named, for all that. 
You must remember that you are here on the backbone of the 
continent. Our ascent has been so gradual that we hardly knew 
we were climbing up day and night for the last thousand miles 
of our journey. But we are 3,712 feet above sea level now, and 
we are also at the Jowest point in the Rocky Mountain range for 
2,000 miles. Go in any direction from here and you must climb up 

IS 



hill. This town seems to be the centre of a great star with shining 
iron rays, each about 1,200 miles long. Look at your map and 
you will find Kl Paso to be about 1,200 miles from the city of 
Mexico on the south, and very nearly the same distance from 
Kansas City on the north. New Orleans on the east, and San 
Francisco on the west. It seems to be a kind of cross roads 
town, but it is a lively one. It is a typical frontier and railroad 




BRIDGE OVER KU) GRANDE. 

town. The rough element which dominated it a few years ago 
has disapi)eared or has been suppressed, and now it is, as you 
see, a clean, well-kept town, of which its people may justly be 
proud." 

" Here comes a car," exclaimed the Captain. " All aboard 
for Mexico. It's a bobtail car, not a very stylish rig for us to 
go in to visit our sister Republic." 

" Look out for the mule when the bell rings," said the Cor- 
poral. 

"The mule, the faithful mule," said the Major, " how much 
this country owes to this abused servant 1 His praises have never 
been properly sung, nor have his virtues been fairly recorded. 
His vices have been heralded over the world by a vicious and 
venal press, the function of which seems to be to let the evil 



16 



which men (and mules) do live after them, and to see to it 
that 'the good is oft interred with their bones.' Even so genial 
a soul as the late lamented Josh Billings said, 'If I was goin' 
to attend the funeral of a mule, I'd stand in front of him.' 
Now, that is too bad. This country couldn't have been brought 
to its present high degree of civilization without the much- 
maligned mule and his little brother the burro. You will know 
these comely creatures better before you get back to Boston, 
and I'll venture that you will think of them kindly ever 
after." 

As they entered the car, the Captain remarked, " Why ! the 
driver is smoking, and so is the conductor ! " 

"Of course," replied the Major, "and so are the passengers." 

"Upon my word," whispered the Corporal, " there is a woman 
smoking too. Isn't that odd ? " 

" Perhaps so to you, my boy, but you won't notice a little 
thing like that after a while. All over Mexico, everybody or 
nearly everybody smokes. I never saw but one Mexican who 
didn't smoke, if he had anything to smoke, and he was on a 
steamboat on Lake Chapala. He positively decHned a cigar 
which I offered him ! " 

"Perhaps he was afraid that it wasn't a good one. Major." 

" Well, he didn't try it. He was a curiosity, sure enough. 
He'll be put in a museum some of these days. Why, the Mexi- 
cans smoke everj-where, in the cars, in the theatres, in the stores, 
in the schoolhouses, everywhere except in the churches. But 
the cigarette is the article in universal use. I never saw a 
Mexican smoking a pipe, nor did I ever know of one who acquired 
the distinctively American habit of chewing tobacco. Give the 
Mexican his due." 

" Tiene usted, seiior, algo que pague derecho." 

" No, seiior, nada." 

"Adios, seiior ! " 

"What was all that, Major?" 

17 



"That's the customs officer of the Mexican Republic, my boy ; 
we've passed ! " 

" Short work, wasn't it ? " 

"Yes, that's the beauty of having nothing; that is, nothing 
dutiable." 

"Polite, wasn't he?" 

" Yes, very ; there's more politeness to the acre in this country — 
remember we're in Mexico now — than there is to any dozen 
acres north or east of the Rio (kande. You'll be more and 
more impressed with that fact the longer you stay in Mexico, 
and most deeply impressed when you recross the river on your 
way home. In all your intercourse with these people, from 
highest to lowest, you'll find them like the two old worthies of 
whom it is written, — 

' In all they did you might discern with ease 
A willing mind and a desire to please.' 

That certainly ought to be set down to their credit, and so 
let it be recorded." 

As they stepped out of the car in Juarez, the Captain ex- 
claimed, " Well, I hope that driver has tired himself out with 
slapping and punching and pounding that poor mule ; he has 
tired me out anyhow." 

" Oh, that's nothing ! The mule doesn't care, probably, 
and the driver wouldn't think he was driving if he didn't do 
that. Do you know you are no longer under the protection of 
the * Red, White, and Blue ' ? You are under the ' Red, White, 
and Cireen ' now. The sister republics dress nearly alike in the 
matter of flags. Both wear stripes, and the eagle is the national 
emblem of each." 

"Well, the American flag is good enough for me," said the 
Corporal. 

" Right, good enough for anybody, and long may she wave. 
But our Mexican neighbors enthuse over their flag and national 

i8 



emblems more than we do, and let us applaud their patriotism. 
Their heritage, like ours, has cost blood, and no people on the 
globe excel the Mexicans in devotion to their country." 

"A great city this is," exclaimed the Corporal with a smile 
which revealed his thought better than his words. 

"No, not great ; it isn't exactly great, it is hardly a small one, 
but still it is a ciudad. We have some cities in the States, 
you know, that are not beauties, that have neither the grace of 
age nor the name of a president. There is Jones City, for in- 
stance." 

"Well, where is the city, anyhow?" 

" My dear boy, in Mexico a city requires only two things, a 
church and a plaza. In the States still less is required^ a 
saloon and a cross-road station constitute a city. I have seen 
several ' cities,' in fact, which consisted only of two posts and 
a signboard with a name on it. That signboard is a prophecy 
of a city yet to be. Well, there is more than that here, a great 
deal more. Here are several streets devoted to business, some 
fine stores, a large new customs building, and a big lottery 
establishment. What more do you want ? But you are in the 
' land of by and by,' the land of ' some time,' and of ' take it 
easy.' Don't be impatient. They'll get there one of these 
bright days, and surprise you as well as themselves. You see 
they have already begun ; there has been more growth here 
in the last ten years than in the two hundred years previous to 
1880. I'll give you a little modern history now. In 1865 this 
place was the actual capital of the Republic of Mexico. Wher- 
ever Benito Juarez, the President, was, there was the capital, 
and he was here for nearly a year, keeping out of the hands of 
the French. At last the foreigners were beaten, and Juarez and 
his cabinet resumed business in the city of Mexico. He was 
three times elected President, and died in office in 1872. He 
was pure Indian, a grand specimen of the old Aztec race. He 
was a great man, and the Mexican people honor his name as we 



19 




)l.l) t.l.sl>>M lIuUSK. 



do that of Washington. In 1888 a statue was erected here to 
his memory, and the name of Paso del Norte was changed to 
Juarez in his honor. As 1 have said, the idea of progress has 
arrived and is at work. See that fine new custom house, — 
you should have seen the old one ! and you see improvements 
going on everywhere ; slowly, perhaps, but steadily Juarez is 
growing more like its neighbor over the river." 




NEW Cl'STOM llorSK. 



"■ Really," said the Captain, " there is something pleasing in 
the ' comfortable look ' of the place. I'hese adobe houses, low 
and flat roofed, cannot be very attractive to the eye, but an 
inspection of them shows that they are the best for such a 
climate, and that they can be made very charming within." 

"Yes, that is true ; all through Mexico, in every house, how- 
ever poor or however forbidding it may look outside, you will 
find signs of a love for the beautiful. Poverty alone prevents 
the people, as a whole, from having the prettiest homes imagi- 
nable. Mexicans are fond of music and flowers." 

The party went across the little plaza into the famous old 
church of Guadalupe^ 

"Here, boys," said the Major, "you see one of the great in- 
stitutions of Mexico, the plaza. This is only a little one, and 
not very attractive ; but in the larger towns great care is taken 
to provide a pretty place of recreation for the people. The 
plaza is the property of everybody ; it is about the only thing in 
a Mexican town that is not walled in. As you see here, the 
parish church and the government buildings in every town are 
found on the plaza. This church building, made of adobe, is 
notable principally for its age. A mission was founded here in 
1662, and has been maintained ever since. The house has very 
few ornaments, and gives evidence of the poverty of the parish. 
Some fine carving can be seen on the great beams which hold 
up the heavy roof, but the altar and the pulpit are severely 
simple. Well, boys, this is enough of the seventeenth century, 
let us get into the glorious nineteenth, that suits me better." 

A short walk brought them to the station of the Mexican Cen- 
tral Railway. It is a handsome structure of a single story, and 
of cool, gray color, built, after the Mexican style, around an open 
court or patio. Plats of grass, palm trees, plants, and flowers 
give the patio the appearance of a park, and abundance of water 
keeps it always fresh and cool. The north end of the building 
is used by the officials of the division, and the south end is 



21 



devoted to waiting-rooms, restaurant, express and baggage 
rooms. Entrance to all the offices is made from the patio. 
Happy is he who hath his place of business looking out upon 
such a refreshing scene. 

" Isn't this fine?" exclaimed the Captain. " Ii is like an oasis 
in a desert. How delightful a contrast to what we have just 
seen ! This is a better plaza than that in front of the church." 

" I should say so," said the Corporal ; " I'd like to be division 
su[)erintendent myself, and have my office here." 





||;j,lj^lU' T i'^iit'll 



,id 



" I don't know of anything finer than this, for its purpose, in 
either the United States or Mexico," said the Major. " It 
seems just perfect, but then, it's only a sample of the style of 
the company. * Everything must be \ i ,' is its motto. As fast 
as possible, stations, restaurants, shops, and houses belonging to 
the company are being brought to the high standard of which 
this is a completed specimen. This is only one of several large 
buildings of the company here. Over there you see the great 
freight-houses. See what extensive yards, and what a conven- 
tion of cars ; there must be a thousand here at times." 

"Well," said the Ca])tain, "this is the nineteenth century, 
sure enough. Here is the sign of the power that can transform 



22 



Mexico by teaching her her own power and assisting her to 
develop her great resources." 

" I am proud of the enterprise of our own country," said 
the Major ; " but for that, Mexico might have had to wait a 
century longer before she could shake off her lethargy, but 
now the United States has shown her what to do and how to 
do it." 

" Ciood for the United States," exclaimed the Corporal. 
" Let's go back to that best of countries." 

"Yes, we must go at once," said the Major, "for we have to 
attend to some matters in El Paso. There's the matter of 
money, for one thing." 

"And there's the matter of dinner, for another," said the 
Captain. 

" Dinner and di?iero both important," added the Corporal, as 
they boarded the bobtail car for the United States. 

" Let's attend to the dinero first, the bank may be closed 
before we finish dinner," said the Captain. 

"All right," replied the Major, "and here comes Uncle Sam's 
collector of customs, but the Treasury Department won't get 
anything out of us this time." 

"Any goods?" asked the collector. 

" Nothing, sir," answered the Major. 

"Passed again," he added, as the collector left the car; "but 
that fellow took fifty cents from me pretty quickly the last time 
I met him. I had a parcel in my hand containing a dozen 
photographs, which I had bought in that curio store. He 
scented the game and brought it down. 

"'What did they cost?' he asked.' 

" ' Two dollars,' I answered. 

"'Fifty cents duty,' he remarked, and the car stopped while 
he waited for me to settle. 

"'I thmk ni return them, for the seller did not tell me they 
were dutiable.' 



23 



" ' All right, you can do that, but you must pay the duty 
fust.' 

"' Have I crossed the line?' I asked. 

" ' Vou have crossed the Rubicon,' said the scholarly deputy 
collector of the United States customs, at El Paso, Texas. 




I'AllD ur .-^lAMUN. 

" I paid, and as I rode, the question of the ages, ' Why did 
Caesar pause at the Rubicon?' seemed to have been solved at 
last. Uhere must have been a customs collector there, who 
held him up for tribute. '(Ireat Cresar's ghost!' said I (to 
myself as I supjjosed). The driver must have understood 
me, for he turned and said, 'Si, Sefior.' " 

"If the Rubicon wasn't more of a river than this Rio Grande," 
said the Corporal, " Caesar probably paused on account of sur- 
prise at seeing no water. A Roman candle could wade this river 
now, and not wet its fuse, and a Roman soldier wouldn't wet his 
ankles." 



24 



"My boy, I've told you that the river is taking a rest just 
now, and will do better the next time you come to see it." 

Arriving at the bank, exchange of funds was soon made, and 
it was greatly in favor of American money. 

"That's good," said the Captain, "that will make travel in 
Mexico cheap enough." 

"Yes, I believe that there i-s no country in the world where the 
traveller can get so much of so good quality for his money as in 
Mexico. Why, see how many more Mexican dollars we have 
than we had American dollars to trade ! " 

"Good, that'll make opals cheap too, won't it?" exclaimed 
the Corporal. "Si, Senor." 

For the convenience of passengers the Mexican Central train 
is backed over to the Santa Fe station in El Paso an hour be- 
fore the time of departure for Mexico. Ample time for the 
examination of baggage and for supper is allowed in Juarez. 
Examination by the Mexican ofificials is made so politely that 
the passenger feels like thanking them for their attentions. 
He is equally happy to see them paste on his trunk the pretty 
little label marked, " Reconocido por la Aduana de Ciudad 
Juarez," and to see the baggageman put it into his car. A visit 
to the " despacho de boletos " (that is the new name for ticket 
office) soon fixes one for the journey so far as passage and 
Pullman affairs are concerned. And then supper, your first 
meal in Mexico ! Visions of chile con came and tortillas flit 
through the mind only to vanish as you enter the restaurant on 
the south side of that pretty patio, already referred to. Behold 
no Mexican man, woman, or viuchacho, but a manager and 
waiters from the Flowery Kingdom, and a bill of fare that equals 
the one you saw in the Union depot at Kansas City. 

"That was a good supper," said the Captain, as the party came 
out, " good enough for anybody." 

" Now let us go out and look over the train. I don't think 
you ever have seen one just like it." 

25 



" How does it differ from our trains? " asked the Corporal. 

" They have first, second, and third class cars in Mexico. The 
Pullman makes another, we might say super first class, just as it 
is in Kngland. The government, when it arranged with the 
builders of the roads, made provision for the poor of the country. 
Travel in second and third class cars is very cheap." 

"Well, it ought to be," said the Corporal. "I should want to 
be paid for riding in this third-class car. Seats only lengthwise, 




AT IIOMK WKDNKSDAVS. 

one on each side, and two, back to back, down the middle of the 
car, mere benches ! " 

"True," replied the Major, "but even they nnist be easier 
to ride on than the poor burro, especially if one must travel 
some hundreds of miles. You ought to have a ride in a 
Mexican liiligctuia, say for twelve or twenty-four hours. You'd 
think this a palace in comparison with that." 

" The second class looks comfortable enough," said the 
Captain ; " and the first-class coach is first class, and a little 
more too, having chairs for the comfort of passengers." 



26 



" Vamonos ! did you hear that, Corporal?" 

" What does that mean ? " 

"That means practically 'all aboard.' " 

"And so we are really off! " exclaimed the Captain. 

' My native land, adieu, adieu, 
I cannot always stay with you, stay with you.' " 

"It will be dark pretty soon," said the Corporal, as the train 
started, "and we can't see the country between here and 
Chihuahua at all. That is too bad." 

"Not so bad as it might be, but it would be a fine thing 
if we could go, as some trains in our country go, 'through 
by daylight.' However, I'll tell you about the stations, and 
the interesting features of those parts of the line which we 
pass over in the night ; you'd better study your folder and 
map, so that you will not have to remark, ' Mr. Speaker, where 
was I at?' " 

Returning from a visit to a neighbor, the Major inquired, 
" What does the folder tell you, ye pilgrims from the Rio 
Grande? " 

" It tells us that it is 225 miles to Chihuahua, and that we get 
breakfast there." 

" That folder is a Truthful James, but it doesn't tell all the 
truth. It says nothing of what is between Juarez and Chihua- 
hua, except that 'it is a fine stock-raising country,' " replied 
the Captain. 

" Well, a folder would have to be a book, and a large one too, 
if it were required to tell much about the country between sta- 
tions on this long line of nearly two thousand miles. It can 
only speak of sections ; and this section is chiefly a stock-raising 
region. But I can add a little to that morsel of information, I 
think. 

" In general, between here and Chihuahua the country is much 
like that through which we passed the last day of our journey to 

27 



El Paso ; it is about 'the same thing continued ' for four hundred 
miles from the border. No land is richer than this ill-looking 
plain, but it needs water to bring out its capacity. Where water 
is, there you will find growing fields of corn, flax, beans, wheat, 
and barley. Grass is abundant, and large herds of cattle and 
horses are raised for the market. 

" Now, more in detail. The first station out is Samalayuca, 
which calls for no comment. At San Jose, and at the next 
station, Ojo Caliente, there is little to attract attention. We 
begin to climb a hill, on the side of which is the station Monte- 
zuma, and on its summit is (lallego, the highest point between 
Juarez and Chihuahua. A curious-looking mountain, named 

Montezuma's Chair, is 
in sight for hours, but 
we recede from it as 
we go down the hill on 
the other side to La- 
cuna. There is an 
extensive view from 
( '.allego, where we are 
seventeen hundred feet 
above the Rio Grande 
^ valley and fifty-four 
hundred feet above the 
sea. The country 
shows more signs of 
fertility than appear 
farther north. Not far away is a hacienda in a beautiful grove 
under the hills. The sight of living green is evidence of water, 
and the railroad supplies its reservoirs from a spring in the hill. 
Here we begin to see some of the great herds for which the 
state of Chihuahua is noted. Could the great plain about here 
be in some way irrigated, this sterile-looking region would 
blossom like a garden. The soil is deep and very fertile, and. 




THREE I.llTLE BROTHERS. 



38 



like most of the land of Mexico, would easily produce two and 
even three crops a year. We now descend to a great plain, 
which it is a delight to look upon. The name of the station, 
Laguna, indicates that there is a lake somewhere near ; and sure 
enough there is the Lake of Evergreen Oaks (Laguna de E^n- 
cinillas), a body of water which is sometimes, but not always, 
fifteen miles long and three miles wide. This is a paradise 
for birds and for cattle. Of course, such a bonanza as a 
lake in a country like this would be appreciated and appro- 
priated. 

"Looking across the lake, you see great white walls shining 
out from among the trees. They remind one of a fortification, 
but they are the walls of one of the most famous haciendas of 
Mexico. That is the place of business, as 'hacienda' means, the 
headquarters of the great estate belonging to Don Enrique 
Miiller, of Chihuahua, and Don Luis Terrasas, ex-governor of 
the state. They are said to have more than seventy- five 
thousand head of cattle on their properties, and the whole 
country, for more than eighty n^iles along the track, belongs to 
them." 

" Dons they are, to be sure," said the Captain, " but if one 
of them is a German, he would be a baron, at home, I sup- 
pose." 

" No doubt, but he is a Don here. By the way, did you 
know that the last Spanish viceroy of Mexico was an Irish- 
man? " 

"Ridiculous ! " exclaimed the Captain. 

" Well, perhaps it is, but his name, as it appears in the list of 
viceroys, is Juan O'Donoju. If that isn't John O'Donohue, then 
I don't know Spanish, Irish, or English." 

"Good for old Don O'Donohue," exclaimed the Corporal 
"If there were any chance for an office now in Mexico, more 
O'Donohues might come here, but the United States seems to 
be good enough for them.'' 



29 



Well, on we go, across this great cattle country ; gradually 
descending till we come to Sauz (willow), where more water is 
seen and more trees too ; thence on i)ast Sacramento, and in 
an hour we are at Chihuahua. This is the story of the country 
whi( h we pass over during our first night in Mexico. 




30 





CHIHUAHUA. 



III. 



" I'll not march through Coventry with them, that's flat." 

King Henry IV. 

^ ■ ^HERE it is," exclaimed the Captain in the 
Va, I morning, " the great church of Chihuahua, 

n I of which I have seen so many pictures, and 

^1 it is a picture itself." 

I Yes, it is a beauty ; and what a setting 

the picture has ! In the background the 

purple hills ; to right and left, the dark, 

gray, flat-roofed houses spread out on a 

brown plain ; in the foreground, the green 

foliage of the plaza ; these, with the great 

dome and the two high, graceful towers 

rising against the sky, combine to make a 

picture which, once seen, can never be 

forgotten. Novelty may add to its charm, 

but its real beauty is what makes so lasting an impression ; for 

after you have seen all the great landscape views of this land of 

beauties, you remember this as one of the finest of them all. 

As the city is built upon an elevated plain, it can be seen a 
long time before the station is reached ; and as the train does 




31 



not come within a mile of the town, the passenger has a long 
look at this charming picture, which grows in beauty as the 
distance lessens. 

'I'he train stops at the north siile of the little river Chubiscar 
for breakfast and for change of engines. Here there is a large 
colony of operatives of the company. It is really a village of 
great importance, both to the company and to its passengers. 
The chief interest of the traveller is ccnireil in the restaurant, a 
large and inviting building with broad veranda, where a duplicate 
of the meal at Juarez is offered. It is a good breakfast on the 
way south, and a good supper on the way north, that the travel- 
ler finds ready here on arrival. 

At this point are great machine shops and a round-house of 
the company, with locomotives, cars, and material for repair of 
equipment, which indicale that this is one of the busiest points 
on the line in the operating department. The hospital for 
employes is a first-class establishment. Near here also is a flour- 
ishing iron works, a Mexican enterprise, which is doing a great 
business. Native as well as imported iron is manufactured, and 
the works supply the Mexican Central road with a large amount 
of material. 

The passenger station is on the south side of the river ; from 
there connection is made with the city by street car or carriage 
ride of a mile along the river. At the station the boys saw for 
the first time a considerable group of genuine uncjualified Mex- 
icans. 

"Good gracious ! who are all these people?" asked the Cor- 
poral, as he stepped out of the car ; " are they all going to take 
the train?" 

" Well, hardly, my boy, perhaps a dozen of them are going. 
The rest have come to see them off and to see us arrive. These 
are ' the reception committee.' A railroad in Mexico couldn't 
be run without them, so they seem to think. They constitute 
the typical crowd that you will see at every stopping place 

32 




between here and the capital. Study them a little. Notice 
that all the men are dressed in white coarse cotton, wear the 
broadbrim sugar - loaf 
sombrero of straw, and 
wrap themselves, even 
in summer, in a shawl 
(called a zarape) . No- 
tice that the women 
are dressed in all the 
colors of the rainbow, 
and are partly wrapped 
up in a dark colored 
cotton scarf or shawl 
(called a re/>oso). 
From the border to 
the coast, the costume 
of the natives is the 
same. Notice also 

that nearly all of them, women as well as men, are barefoot or 
have only sandals on their feet." 

" Not pretty are they?" said the Captain. 

"No, but picturesque, eh?" 

"To an artist perhaps, but not to me." 

"Oh, that is rank heresy, Captain." 

Comfortable quarters were found at the hotel, and the 
day was spent looking about this very enterprising Mexican 
town. 

"This is something like a city," exclaimed the Corporal. 
"What handsome stone buildings ! " 

"Yes, no town in the United States of twice the population 
can show48o many fine buildings." 

"None have any such church as this," said the Captain, as he 
pointed to the so-called cathedral which they had admired from 
a distance in the morning. 



RECEPnON COMMIXrEE. 



33 



" No, no city in our country has a silver mine to put 
under tribute. This church of San Francisco was built, they 
say, from a tax on the product of the fiimous Santa Eulalia mine. 
Corporal, figure up how much that mine produced if the tax of 
twenty-five cents a pound on its silver bullion gave the good 
fathers $800,000 for the building of their church. Silver was 
worth more then than now, but reckon on a dollar an ounce and 
sixteen ounces to the pound." 

"Some other time, Major. I am not figuring now, but look- 
ing at the figures on the church." 

"Any time will do, my boy, but don't forget how much these 
fine figures of the twelve apostles and of the good San Francisco 
owe to their rich sister, Santa Kulalia. These are as fine speci- 
mens of stone carving as you will see in many a day. They are 
not foreign, but the work of native artists."' 

"Is this a very old church, Major?" 

"A little more than a hundred years old. You can remember 
its age, perhaps, by recalling the fact that it was completed the 
same year that the Constitution of the United States was 
adopted, in i 789." 

Next, the mint was visited. The building was once the 
Hospital Real. Historically it is an interesting place, for here 
Hidalgo and his associates, leaders in the war for independence, 
were imprisoned, and from here taken to the place of execu- 
tion, which is now marked by a monument." 

"Who was Hidalgo?" asked the Corporal. 

"He was a priest, and a good one. He was likewise a soldier, 
at least in his later career. Here he died, but we will hear 
the story of his life later on, when we reach the spot where he 
did the work which made his name immortal." 

" What a fine idea this is of having long rows of coipnnades ; 
they give such a pretty appearance to the street, and furnish 
such refreshing shade ! And what pretty colors the houses 
have ! " 



34 



"Yes, they call the colonnades porfa/es; they are a character- 
istic feature of Mexican cities. And then the stone benches, 
with their high backs, here and there along the highway and 
through the parks ! Could anything be more considerate on 
the part of the city fothers 
or more acceptable to the 
people? " 

The great aqueduct which 
spans the valley on stone 
arches excites the admira- 
tion of all visitors. It 
serves its purpose to-day as 
it has served it for more 
than two hundred years, 
and is in perfect condition. 
A walk through the Ala- 
meda, or park of sycamores, 
brings the visitor to the San- 
tuario or Chapel of Guada- 
lupe, a beautiful church in 
which is a statue of Loyola ; 
and in the suburbs beyond 
are seen many of the finest 
houses and gardens in the vicinity. The Alameda, in the upper 
part of the city, is kept in better shape than the other, and 
people of a better class resort to it to enjoy the shade of its 
splendid trees, or pass through it on their way to the new baths. 

"Well, where is the wonderful Chihuahua dog?" inquired the 
Corporal; "I haven't seen one since I've been here." 

"Go ask the winds or the women, my boy. I can't tell you. 
For my part, I never want to see one again, do you? " 

"No, but I'd like to know how they raise them." 

" A good many are raised, I think, as the darky raises chickens, 
by hand ; but the dog business is a little dull now, they say : 




^^TT— 



35 



plenty of orders, but not goods enough. Hut Chihuahua does 
a large business in otlier kinds of goods. It is the great centre 
of trade with the rich mining districts in the mountains, and 
as old abandoned mines are reopened or new ones discovered, 
the volume of trade must increase. This is a very large 
state, and as we go south to-morrow 1 will give you some 
further facts about it. Let's go to the hotel now and write 
home to our friends." 

The reception committee was at the station again in the 
morning, apparently as eager to see our party leave as they had 
been anxious to see them arrive. 

" Don't they look more picturesque than they did yesterday, 
Captain? " 

"Well, a little. I can acquire a liking for theni if 1 ha\en't 
it now. I like them in a way already, they seem so intent and 
so content. How like children ! " 

" That's it exactly ; the whole Mexican people of the lower 
class are simply children. They are a constant study to visitors, 
and they'll be a constant surprise to you. 

"This morning," said the Major, as they " fixed " themselves 
for the journey, " we ride through some of the great estates of 
Mexico, called haciendas. Vou saw some small farms on the 
way here, and I told you of a few extensive establishments last 
night ; to-day you will see some for yourselves. Yonder is the 
smelting works of the famous Santa Eulalia mine, and not far 
away is a great hacienda, comprising more than 60,000 acres of 
fine land, belonging to the gentleman of whom I spoke ; Mr. 
Henry Miller, we would call him in English. On that estate is 
an adobe palace 200 feet long and 125 feet wide. The gates 
and pillars are of cut stone finely carved by natives. It has 
beautiful towers at the angles and a patio within that is as large 
as the plaza of some towns, and much more attractive. A 
yearly crop of 75,000 bushels of wheat and of 25,000 bushels of 
corn is pretty good business for a single farm, isn't it? A little 

36 




PARISH CHURCH, CUIUL'AHUA. 



farther on are two more haciendas, one of 60,000 acres and 
another of 120,000 acres, so they say." 







MEXICAN LAUNDRY. 

" Major, please tell us exactly what a hacienda is and how 
carried on," said the Corporal, evidently interested in the 
figures just mentioned. 

" It is a little world by itself, and not a very little one either. 
More definitely, the term 'hacienda' is used to signify a great 
estate made up of numerous parts, as, for instance, ranches, 
mills, mines, forests, and plantations. The headquarters of the 
estate is spoken of as //zi? hacienda ; you will see some of the 
fort-like buildings as we go along. Here is the residence of 
the owner or of the administrador, and, near by, the homes of 
many of the laborers. Here are the great storehouses for grain, 
and corrals for horses and cattle. Here also are the church and 
the school, and the hospital for the families who live and labor 
on the estate. The store which supplies the families is here 
also, and often factories form a part of the hacienda. The 
whole establishment is a relic of the feudal system, under which 
the weak and the poor engaged to serve the strong and rich, 
and these, in turn, agreed to exercise a paternal and protective 
authority over their servants. The system belongs to the fif- 
teenth century, but is out of place now. It is not consistent 
with progress or liberty." 



37 



" Does it prevail in Mexiro?" 

"Ves, I may say it docs prevail, for the greater part of the 
land in this country that is fit for, or can be made fit for, culti- 
vation or for use in any way, is owned in great tracts by a few 
families or inilividuals." 

" I can see, easily enough," said the Captain, " what the effect 
of that must be." 

"Think of one estate of a million and a half acres ! another 
of two hundred and fifty thousand, and so on. The ground 
for hope of stability in the I'nited States is the foct that, while 
there are some large estates, there are more than four million 
small forms owned anil worked by the families that live on them. 
Mexico must make it at least possible for one million of its 
people to own 'forty acres and a cow.' " 

" And a mule." 

"Yes, and a mule, or, anyhow, a burro." 

" The hacienda business is, practically, slavery, and there is 
no progress in it. Here we are at Horcasitas, a station 
named for the gentleman who owns an estate through which 
this road runs for more than twenty-five miles. Yonder is 
another hacienda of about forty thousand acres, a little one, 
owned by a banking firm." 

"What river is this, Major?" 

"This is the San Pedro, and it flows into the Conchos, a little 
east of us ; we cross a handsome bridge here. The next 
station is also named for a great hacienda of 150,000 acres. 
Las Delicias. About 10,000 acres are under the plow on this 
estate." 

" It doesn't look like very good land, Major. The cactus 
seems to be the chief ])roduct." 

"That is the native weed. Of course, the land will grow 
cactus if you don't give it something else to do. (iiveanyof 
this soil water and seed and a little labor, and the result will as- 
tonish you." 

3S 



Here we are in sight of the Conchos River. We run up 
that stream now for thirty miles. Notice along here, the great 
canals which have been made to convey the water to and 
^ through the fields. All 

this region is fertile and 
f J\ )^, usually very productive. 




Jj It has been very dry for 

4N*i^MMi'HI^!!''^^9H|^ci~ i\^ ^^^ years now through 
^^^ • '''^^'* ^^'^i^.> Northern Mexico, and 

everything has suffered, 
but you see that even now the valley isn't without crops. The 
region raises barley, corn, and wheat, and also cotton to some 
extent. 

And here is Santa Rosalia. Many an unfortunate has blessed 
her name and her famous springs. This is a place worth 
stopping at. Its little plaza is 
a bit of paradise. And you 
see this town has the luxury 
of two rivers ; here the Flori- 
do joins the Conchos, which 
we crossed a few minutes since, 
and we shall cross the Florido 
just below the dinner station, 
Jimenez. 

The village of Santa Rosalia 
is not so pretty as its name, 
or so fragrant as its springs. 
These smell like sulphur; but 
they are four miles away, and 
don't smell to Santa Rosalia. 

There are six of these 
springs which boil up from 

under a yellowish sulphur-colored hill, and the waters are very 
hot. The waters are led through ditches into adobe bath- 




39 



houses, where the victim or the visitor for pleasure can parboil 
himself for health or for fun. Accommodations are not yet 
suitable for invalids, but if half that is told of the curative 
power of these waters is true, it can't be long before Santa 
Rosalia will be visited by thousands of sufferers from rheu- 
matism and the gout. Let the enterprising^ hotel man take 
notice. 

And now our course is, for about fifty miles, up the Rio 
Florido. The valley of this stream is extremely fertile ; it re- 
minds one, in the extent of its cultivation, of the valley of the 
Lerma in Jalisco. 

" Do see that team," exclaimed the Corporal. " What is the 
man doing? " 

"Plowing. Primitive, isn't it? See the yoke, only a beam 
tied to the animals' horns. And the plow ! simply a V-shaped 
piece of wood shod with iron. Sometimes the oxen are driven 
'by fours.' " 

" Why don't they get American plows and do their work 
right?" asked the Captain. 

" Qiiiefi sabe ! Our plows have been tried here, but the Mexi- 
cans at once perpetrated an ' improvement ' on them. They cut 
off one of the handles ! Costumhre del pais, — it is the way of 
the country. But modern implements are fast taking the place 
of the old." 

Well, here we are at Jimenez. Here we meet the up train 
and we get dinner. When we come back, we"ll see a splendid 
new dining-room, but just now " dinner is ready in the dining- 
car" on a side-track. Plenty of everything and good service. 
Jimenez is a point of great importance. It is a city of 9,000 
population, in a rich agricultural district. Fifty miles west is the 
great silver country of which Parral is the centre. A daily stage- 
line connects this station with Parral, and parties from the coun- 
try west, even from the Pacific coast, come to Jimenez to take 
the train. 



40 



"Jimminy ! what a name. How did the company ever come 
across such a name as they gave this station?" asked the 
Corporal. 

" That is a good name. Call it Hemanez, if you please. 
It sounds better than it looks. It is the name of one of 
Hidalgo's associates, who was executed at Chihuahua. Walk 
down the track a little way, and you can see a great natural 
curiosity, an aerolite. This is only a piece of the mysterious 




/isitor from another sphere, but it weighs about twenty tons ! 
The other part of it, and the much greater part, is somewhere 
in the region west of us." 

"What is it, anyhow?" asked the Corporal, as he proceeded 
to examine it. 

"Is it stone, or iron, or copper, or what?" asked the Cap- 
tain. 

" On the outside it looks like copper, having the color of that 
metal ; within it appears to be pure iron. On cutting with a 
cold chisel the metal looks like steel. The whole piece has the 
appearance of the segment of a sphere. Strike the edge, and it 
sounds like a bell. It is a wonderful thing; where it came 
from who can tell?" 



41 



"This looks as if it had been fused or melted," said the 
Captain. 

"It certainly does, but alas ! we do not know 

' What anvils rang, what hammers beat, 
In what a forge or what a heat.' 

If it could only tell its story ! 

"The next station of importance is Kscalon. A new and 
very extensive mining district has been opened in the Sierra 
Mojada in the state of Coahuila, some seventy-five miles north- 
east of this point. There are veritable ' mountains of ore ' 
there ; some of it is worked at home, and thousands of tons 
are annually shipped to other points, some to San Luis Potosi 
and some to the States. Escalon is one of the youngest, 
but at the same time one of the heaviest stations on the 
line. The Mexican Northern road connects here with the 
Central." 

"What state are we in?" asked the Captain. 

"Still in Chihuahua ! We are 420 miles from Juarez, and still 
in Chihuahua." 

" Great state, isn't it ! How large is it? " 

" About 90,000 square miles, an area larger than that of all 
New England, about as large as all that part of our country east 
of the Hudson ; it is the largest of the states of Mexico ; we 
leave it in a few minutes and cross into Durango. Nothing of 
special interest is observable till we reach Lerdo. A curious 
thing, however, is the sulphur mountain east of us at Conejos. 
You can see the stripes of color which the mineral has given 
the mountain. 

" Another curious thing, which you will understand by refer- 
ence to your profile maj), is this whole region. It is a bolson, 
that is, a pocket, a valley, or a basin, without a proper natural 
outlet. The valley of Mexico is another, and there are several 
places of the kind in the country. This is the Bolson de 

42 



Mapimi. You will notice that we shall have descended eight 
hundred feet between Jimenez and Lerdo. This great depressed 
region is east of us, and is known in general as the Laguna 
country." 

"Laguna means lake, does it?" 

"^ Yes, a shallow lake or pond, or swamp only, as this is some- 
times. In rainy seasons such a region is flooded, but in dry 
seasons water remains only in the lowest places, so these la- 
gunas vary in size. Many streams, some of them quite large, 
like the Nazas, which we shall cross, flow into this bolson and 
stop there, unless there are underground passages for their 
discharge." 

" Is it a fertile section of country? " 

"Very fertile. It is the great cotton country of Mexico. 
Forty thousand bales of cotton are shipped over the Central 




every year from Lerdo. It is said that the Mexican cotton 
plants continue to bear profitable crops from four to six years 
without replanting and without fertilizers. Practically, here, 
cotton is a perennial, and not an annual plant ; but while the 
product is larger, it is not of so fine a quality as that grown in 
the States. As might be expected, there are cotton mills and 
oil mills here." 

"I suppose the business will increase?" 



43 



" Yes, it will, without doubt. The government is actively at 
work adjusting the matter of water rights, and other questions 
of engineering, about which the people of the states of Durango 
and Coahuila have had differences, and on account of which the full 
development of their section has been greatly retarded. Mexico 
must look to this Laguna country for its supply of native cotton ; 
there will, some day, be a very much larger acreage under culti- 
vation. Lerdo is a flourishing city, with a population of about 
10,000, and presents an attractive appearance. Looking to the 
future, Lerdo has the brightest prospects for growth. The 
elevation of the city is almost exactly that of El Paso, and 
Lerdo, on account of its superb climate, is the resort of many 
who find the high plateau too cold for them." 

A ride of five kilometres brings us to another very impoi- 
tant station, Torreon. 

This is a meal station. Here the passenger will find a 
plentiful supply of good quality. The inevitable Chinese man- 
ager looks after the establishment, and is extremely attentive to 
his guests. 

At Torreon the Mexican International road crosses the Cen- 
tral. It has just been extended (November, 1892) to the city of 
Durango, and now another great state and greater region on the 
west is put in quick communication with the world. From the 
mines on the International, great quantities of coal are brought 
to the Central for distribution in the interior of Mexico. Who- 
ever goes to the capital via the Eagle Pass route goes over 
the Central from Torreon, more than seven hundred miles. 
Torreon is not a thing of beauty, but it is a place of business. 
A large flour mill, the shops of the International road, and the 
natural recjuirements of such a junction-point combine to make 
it an active, thriving town. 

An hour from Torreon brings us to Picardias, a station of con- 
siderable importance, from which connection is made by stage 
three times a week with the city of Durango. 



44 



"Think of a ride of 150 miles in a Mexican diligence, Cap- 
tain, how would you like that?" 

" I can think of much worse things than that, Major. I 
rather think I should like one trip anyhow." 

"Well let us wait till some other time. I suppose we can find 
a better section to explore than this, say, down in Oaxaca." 

Now that the railroad reaches Durango, probably the occupa- 
tion of Picardias is gone, so far as stage line is concerned. 

And now we come to Jimulco. This is a more important 
station than it appears to be. Here is the headquarters of the 
operating department for one of the divisions of the line. A 
commodious station house, large round-house, machine shops 
and other buildings necessary to the service give Jimulco an air 
of great activity. Of course, there must be quite a railroad 
colony at such a point. 

Night shuts out the view now, and we begin our ascent from 
the basin in which we have been running for the last 150 miles. 
The ascent is gradual, however, for we rise only about 2,800 feet 
in the next 200 miles. The country on all sides appears to be 
a vast plain fringed with hills, but as we rise the view widens, 
and we appreciate the fact that we are climbing, climbing, every 
minute to a higher level. There are signs of fertility all about 
us. A great part of the section is under cultivation. One of 
the peculiar features of this inclined plane is the red color of 
the soil, reminding one of the brick-colored clay of New Jersey. 
Can it be that this region is as rich as that garden of the two 
great cities in the States, that "dumb-bell suburb" as Dr. Holmes 
calls it, of New York and Philadelphia? Well, hardly as rich as 
that, but evidently it is good farming land (when it has water). 
But the color ! that is the wonder of the great Yellowstone 
Park no more than of this region. Mr. Church is on record 
as saying that " Mexico is superior to Italy in landscape effects." 
The plain which we are here leaving behind, as seen from the 
summit to which we rise, charms beyond expression when 

45 



lighted by the afternoon sun. The most skilful attempt of the 
artist to transfer its color to canvas utterly foils. 

On we go, up and up all night, until we reach a line 
which, though imaginary, is one that every schoolboy and 
schoolgirl has heard about. Passing the Durango state line 
at Camacho, we have been in the state of Zacatecas since 
one o'clock. At " five o'clock in the morning " we are at 
the pretty station with the pretty name, Caiiitas. At half past 
five we reach Gutierrez, and at half past six are due at 
Fresnillo. Between these last-named stations lies that myste- 
rious line which we have read about, but never have seen, the 
Tropic of Cancer. 

When the Major reminded the boys of this fact, they said 
they must get up to see that line anyway. 

" We don't cross a tropic every day, and we should be show- 
ing disrespect to geography if we didn't turn out to meet it," 
said the Captain. 

"Yes, that's so," added the Corporal, "but I don't care 
for the disrespect. I'd like to have a kick at that twenty- 
three and a half degree thing that used to bother me so. Let's 
get up, by all means." 

"So be it," said the Major, "we'll make sure of a call. I'll 
ask ' the gentleman from Missouri ' to wake us up." 

"Porter!" 

" Yes, sah ! " 

" Please call us three about twenty minutes before we get to 
the Tropic of Cancer, we want to be up when we get to the 
torrid zone." 

"Torrid zone ! No such station, sah." 

" What, are you sure ? " 

" Never heard of it, sah. " 

The boys had to laugh at the look on Pete's face. Evidently 
he thought he knew the names of stations, but in order to justify 
his statement he drew out a time table, and read : — 

46 



"Jimulco, Camacho, Pacheco, Fresnillo ; no Cancer there, 
5ir ! Here's Caiiitas ; maybe that's what you mean, sah." 

" Oh, no, this train goes past Cancer, or I have been mis- 
informed," said the Major, very positively ; " and if I have been, 
I'll make a row." 

" Maybe it's on the other road, sah, and you ought to have 
changed cars at Torreon, the supper station," said the porter, a 
little disturbed. " Say it again, sah, please ; I don't get on to 
the Spanish very well." 

"Tropico de Cancer," soberly said the Major. 

" Sorry, sah, but you're on de wrong train, suah. No such 
station on dis yer road ; no Topico, no torrid zone." 

" Well, porter, you are not to blame if we are. I am going to 
Zacatecas anyhow, and can go back, if necessary, from there ; 
maybe it is on the International ; but please wake us at half 
past five." 

"Yes, sah, suah." 

"Good joke, wasn't it?" said the Corporal, when Pete had 
gone. 

"Pretty good," said the Captain; "'no such station, sah'; 
you're too bad to play so on the gentleman of the bedchamber. 
He'll lose all confidence in himself, if he can't trust himself to 
remember the stations along the line." 

" Oh, well, he'll remember this one next time. Listen." 

Pete's voice was heard in the smoking-room. A dialogue was 
going on between the conductor and porter. 

Porter: "Got a time table? Less see it." (Silence.) 
"Jess like mine." 

Conductor : " What is it ? " 

" Why, that Major with the two boys wants to be called at 
Topico de Cancer. I tole him no such station." 

" Was he awake? " 

" Certain." 

" Did he say Topico ? " 

47 



" That's what he said. He said this train go past that, or 
he's been tole wrong." 

"Well, you didn't understand him ; he knows what he's about, 
he's been over this road before." 

" Maybe he has, but he nebber seen no Cancer all the same ; 
he's pium crazy or I'm out ; but he gets off at Zacatecas. I'll 
wake him up at five o'clock, and let him hunt for it." 

All was soon quiet in the car, and nothing further disturbed our 

party till five o'clock, when Pete re- 
marked to the Major, — 

" Time to get up if you want to 
get up at five o'clock." 

*' Pete, you know I said half past 
five, but no matter. Found that 
station yet?" 

"No, boss, some mistake some- 
how. We are gone past Canitas ; 
that's the nearest I can make out 
to your Cancer." 

"All right, Pete, that's near 
enough. The place I mean is be- 
tween Gutierrez and Fresnillo." 
" Flag station, maybe^ Major ; express trains don't stop there 
I reckon,"' said Pete, still puzzled, and off he went. 

The party was soon ready to see all there was to see, and so 
was Pete, on the sly. Gutierrez was passed. No sign of move- 
ment could Pete detect, except a languid looking out of the 
window, but soon the Major said, "Come on, boys, let's go out 
on the platform." 

Pete had business that way too. He must know about this 
thing. Some other crank, some day, might strike him about the 
same place. 

The Captain spoke up, " That tropic and the other one, how 
they bothered me at school." 




48 



"There's hvo of 'em," said Pete to himself. 

"That's so," joined in the Corporal ; " that twenty-three and a 
half degree business was what I never could understand." 

" Must be curves," thought Pete, " twenty-three and a half 
degree, no such curbs on this yer road. This is a straight road 
mostly; eighteen degrees enough for any road." 

" 'Twas a puzzler to me, too," said the Major. 

"And it is to me, too, suah's you born," said Pete to himself. 

" How I remember it — imaginary line twenty-three and a 
half degrees from the equator, and is the northern boundary of 
the torrid zone." 

"What's that he's sayin'," thought Pete, " International line 
twenty-three and a half degrees from Zacatecas, and north of 
Torreon. Oh, he's off suah, away off, and he ought to got off at 
Torreon." And Pete retired, satisfied that the party was hunt- 
ing for some station on the International, certainly not on the 
Central. 

" Well, boys, it must be just about here, anywhere about 
here." 

"There is Mendoza, 740 miles from El Paso, and you have 
been a few minutes already in the torrid zone," said the Major. 

"This is anything but torrid," shivered the Captain; "I want 
my overcoat." And the Corporal added, — 

"And I want mine too. I can imagine the line, but I can't 
imagine any heat, I am cold." 

" Well, elevation has something to do with this shock to the 
faith of your early days. Let's go in now ; we've got up an 
appetite for a good breakfast, which we are sure to get at Calera, 
not far away." 

" Why, look here. Major, it's an hour and more to breakfast, 
we haven't come to Fresnillo yet." 

"No, but we've passed Tropico, and we'll spend part of 
the hour talking about that and other imaginary things ; here 
you are in the torrid zone, in July, 1892, shivering and calling 

49 



for your overcoats : there's nothing imaginary about that, is 
there? Not a bit of it, it is a cold fact. The air will be colder 
before it is warmer. ^Vhen we get up to Zacatecas, a thousand 
feet higher tlian we arc now, you'll easily imagine that you are 
in the edge of the frigid or at least of a very intemperate zone, 
especially if the zephyrs are up and stirring, as they usually are 
there. 

"Fresnillo ! here we are at an old mining town, and a place 
of 20,000 inhabitants, they say. Nothing new about this place, 
but the railroad and its commodious buildings. l'>esnillo is sixty 
years older than Plymouth Rock. It dates from 1554. Can you 
think so far back. Captain? There was a famous mine discovered 
near here in that year, and the town sprung up. There is a stage 
line from here to Durango. Chance for another excursion of 
a hundred and eighty miles ! " 

"No, I thank you," said the Captain. " Calera is as far as I 
care to go, at least before breakfast." 

"We'll have a good appetite, anyhow," said the Corporal. 
"The porter says that we shall get a fine breakfast there ; that's 
the best thing I've heard to-day." 

"You certainly will," replied the Major. "I never have heard 
of a poor meal at Calera since the present administration came 
in. I am quite ready myself to pay my morning vows to the 
generous Lady of Calera, bless her Yankee heart ! " 

" An hour passed on, the Turk awoke." This Turk was the little 
Corporal who was quick to catch the porter's "Calera, half an 
hour for breakfiist." 

The party's great expectations were more than realized. A 
good breakfast was looked for, as there was no occasion to doubt 
the uniform testimony of all who mentioned the hostess, but 
the breakfast was better than had been expected. It was a sur- 
prise, because no one had thought to find American cooking and 
a first-class bill of fare at a little railroad station on the hills in 
the heart of Mexico, seven hundred and sixty-seven miles from 



50 



the border. The meal was surprise number one, and the build- 
ing in which they found such satisfiction was surprise number 
two. Nothing so fine had been seen since they left the beautiful 
station at Juarez. New were the house and the furniture, clean 
and bright was everything about the establishment, from kitchen 
to parlor. 

"That is something to write home about," said the Captain, as 
he came out of the dining-room. " The folks will hardly believe 
what I shall tell them." 

"Let me see what you write," said the Corporal, "and I'll say 
something else. I know you won't write all that might be said. 
This is splendid." 

" Yes, people in the States have been kept from coming to 
Mexico by the cry of ' nothing to eat.' But things are chaiiging 
for the better. I don't think they ever were so bad as repre- 
sented, but certainly they are good enough now. This is an 
ideal restaurant, and represents the standard to which the presi- 
dent of the road is working to bring the whole meal service 
along the line, and it won't be long before he'll have duplicates 
of Calera." 

From the platform is to be seen a group of pottery kilns. 
Among the industries of Mexico the third in importance is the 
manufacture of vessels from clay. Almost every village has a 
potter. We shall see the various styles and qualities of work as 
we visit different sections. Here in the state of Zacatecas the 
ware is red, hard baked, and glazed inside. 

As they started again the Major said, — 

" Eighteen miles to Zacatecas ! and a climb all the way. 
' Mountains to lefc of us, mountains to right of us,' and a 
mountain in front of us, exactly in front of us ; we can't slide 
along it, we must climb right over it." 

" Well, I feel as if I could walk to Zacatecas if necessary, or 
help push the train up," said the little Corporal. 

" We can all ride ; our horse is a good one, and he won't get 

51 



stalled. Hut he h;is got good \v(jrk to do. For nine or ten 
miles the grade is not severe, but then comes 'a tug of war' 
for nine miles. This morning's ride shows us the first really 
bold scenery and high grade mountain engineering we come to 
in Mexico." 

The party went to the rear platform. From there they could 
see the vast red plain, over and up which they had been climb- 
ing all night, spread out and illuminated by the morning sun. 
The view was a revelation of grandeur and beauty. 

" This is a royal ride," said the Captain. 

" Grand," said the Corjjoral. "This is worth coming to see. 
This beats the breakfast." 

"These curves beat any on the Pennsylvania," said the Cap- 
tain, " and they are rather ' mule shoes ' than horseshoes." 

" Yes, and sometimes double at that," said the Corporal. 

" What grade is this. Major? " 

" About one and a half per cent, I think." 

" Well, what is that a mile ? " 

" Figure it out, my boy; the rise is, say, a foot and a half in a 
hundred feet of track." 

"That is just about eighty feet a mile." 

" That is about it ; in ten miles we rise about eight hundred 
feet; a steep climb, eh?" 

" Sure enough. What are those white monuments on the 
sides of the mountains? " 

" They are mine boundaries." 

".And these walled establishments?" 

" They are the reduction or hoisting works of various mines. 
We are now in one of the great silver-producing regions of the 
world." 

As the party were gathering up their trajjs, i)reparatory to 
leaving the train at Zacatecas, Pete came u|) and said, — 

"Sorry yo was tole wrong, boss, but you can get back to 
Torreon to-morrow morning." 

52 



"Thanks, Pete, we don't go back, we are all right and so are 

you. Did you ever go to school, Pete? " 
" Mighty little, boss." 
"Ever study the map? Geography?" 
" Neber did, boss, for a fac', only the railroad map." 
" Well, I'll send you a book that will tell you about the place 

that we were looking for. Good by." 






^^#f ■ _ 




1^" ^ A P" :' 




"^; /' 


^^ ,^f--* -' ' 









53 





I 



IV. 

" Has this fellow no fctling of his business? 
Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness." 

Ilamlel. 

ACATMCAS is a sample mining town. 
The surrounding hills are supposcfl to 
be full of silver. It is said that mining 
was begun here in 1516, and further, 
it is estimated that a i)r(Kluct of fully 
I JL inf If 1^ > eight hundred million dollars has been 

3 *T,';'k i /3^'4^ taken out already. It is a curious 

^ place ; there is but one other in Mexico 
like it, the city of Guanajuato, which 
we shall visit later on. In tSS6 there 
were about fifteen thousand miners at work in and about these 
hills. 

"Where is the city?" asked the Captain, as the party stood at 
the station. " I see only a few straggling huts in the valley and 
along the hillside. I thought this was a large place." 

"So it is ; walk down the track with me a few rods, you'll see 
something that will surjjrise you." 

As they walked, they met a score of men packing bags upon 
the backs of burros. I'our small sacks or two large ones loailed 
the little animals with all they could carry. They also met a 
group of soldiers escorting and guarding a motley crowd of men 
bearing water in casks suspended on poles. The men were 
prisoners bringing tlie daily water sup])ly from a tank above the 
track. On the hillside was a novel sight. ;\ group of men was 

54 



seated around a little fire, and two or three women were provid- 
ing for the group what, by courtesy, we'll call a breakfast. The 
little burros were nosing about while they were waiting for 
their loads. What they could find to eat did not appear to the 
party. Farther on was a wood- pile, and such wood ! crooked 
as a ram's horn. 

"What is that man doing?" asked the Captain, "that one 
under the three poles?" 

"Oh, he is weighing wood ! You see he doesn't want to load 
the donkey too heavily, and besides, he sells wood by weight. 
See the donkey below the pile there, partly loaded, and see that 
boy on the lower side bracing up the animal; but for the boy, 
the donkey would roll over and (£\^ 
down the hill. And that hut ! 
a dug-out, thatched with a few 
branches and parts 
of old bags. How 
is that for a summer 
residence?" 

" Look here. Ma- 
jor, I am cold. How 
the wind blows !" 

"We are now more than eight thousand feet high, and our 
overcoats are needed for comfort. Even with them on, we must 
move about lively to keep warm. But what do you think of 
those poor creatures who have on only a little cotton?" 

They walked on a few rods farther, the Major calling their 
attention to sundry sights along the upper side of the track, 
when suddenly he said, "Now turn and look at the city." 

There lay the houses of Zacatecas, as grain lies in the hopper 
of a mill. Hills on every side, the low, flat-roofed, square build- 
ings rise in terraces up the steep declivities, having the ap- 
pearance of blocks fastened to an inclined plane. And how 
crowded ! There seems to be no room for growth, unless it 




55 



be up the nmuntains, or down tlic one valley towards the plain 
of Guadalupe. 

"That is a beautiful sight, and no mistake," exclaimed the 
Captain. And the C'orporal chimed in, — 

" How like the pictures I have seen of Oriental towns ! " 

" Yes, everybody remarks the likeness to the cities of Pales- 
tine. This flat-roof style of house is of Moorish origin, and 
came here from Sj^ain, where the Moors held ilominion for 
eight hundred years." 

" \\'hat a curious shaped mountain ! that high one above the 
town," said the Captain. "It looks like a buffalo with his 
back up." 

"That is the name of it, the ' Bufa,' the Spanish for buffalo. 
How would you like to climb up that trail on your knees? 
That is what a good many people have done, going to do 
penance and get absolution in that chapel away up there, called 
Los Remedios." 

" I'll be good," replied the boy. " Please, I don't want to." 

" ^\'ell, now let's go back to the station, get our hand baggage, 
and look up a hotel." 

" Shall we take a carriage? " 

" We might, if we could find one, but I never saw a half- 
dozen carriages, public or private, in this city. That is one 
curious thing about the town, the absence of vehicles, e.vcepting 
carts and ore wagons. The burro is the barouche for this 
place. We'll take that street car, it runs from the station 
through the town, to the foot of the Bufa." 

" This seems quite American," said the Corporal, as he 
boarded the car. 

" 'Tis American, made in New York, you observe." 

" But this isn't American," said the Captain, as the car went 
flying down the hill as fast as mules can run. The little animals 
had to galloj) or get run over. The car did the driving, and 
the driver smoked. About half-way of the trip a conductor got 

56 



The largest, 



on, took the fare and handed each passenger a ticket, from 
which the corner was torn, that it might not be used again. 
No one collects the tickets. The Ca])tain read on his, which he 
preserved as evidence of a visit to the city, " Compania 
Zacatecana de Tranvias, 6 Centavos." 

" Now about a hotel, let's look at the cards which were put 
into our hands on arrival this morning," said the Major. 
" Here they are. Ah, Hotel Central, ' el mas elegante y mejor 
amueblado de la ciudad. Camas de Resorte,' etc. The most 
elegant and the best furnished in the city, and spring beds ! 
That sounds well, but listen to this : ' Hotel Zacatecano, el mas 
grande, hermoso y sano de la ciudad.' 
most beautiful, and healthiest in the 
city. ' Magnifica situacion ' — fine 
situation. ' Puede alojar,' etc. Its 
ample and elegant rooms will 
accommodate any number that 
may be desired. That is the 
hotel for us," said the Major; 
and he added, " You will find 
these very same words on the Zacatecano letter paper. Lucky 
for us that the house can accommodate ' un numero consider- 
able de pasajeros.' Boys, you'll have the pleasure of sleeping 
in a convent to night. That's something new for you, eh?" 

" A convent, you don't mean a nunnery? " 

" Oh, no, and not even a convent now. The building was 
once the Augustinian convent. Part of it is the hotel, and 
part of the old establishment is a Protestant church." 

The car came, passing through a narrow, crooked street, into 
a large square, where one of the most curious sights in all Mex- 
ico is presented. The boys could not find words with which to 
express their surprise, and so were silent. But their feelings 
could be read in their faces. The Major said, — 

" Boys, what do you think of that? " 




57 



They both exclaimed, " Well that beats all ] ever saw. Let's 
get off and watch them." 

" No, we'll come back as soon as we have got rid of our 
traps at the hotel. That is the sight of Zacatecas. Isaac and 

Rebecca at the fountain are 
not a circumstance to these 
poor creatures scooping up 
water." 

" Well I should say not. 
Do look at those jars." 

The party found the Zacate- 
(ano to be muy graiuie, if not 
mas grande, everything about 
it was large. Each of the 
two stories is at least twenty 
feet high. As is customary in 
all fine Mexican houses, the 
patio is a little park or flower 
,L,Mi(len. The lower story is 
devoted to business matters, 
the upper story to dormitories 
and dining-room. 

The first excursion from 
the hotel took them up the 
main street to the pretty little 
plaza, and to the Cathedral. 

" Can we get into the Ca- 
thedral? It is a beautiful 
building." 

"Oh, yes, and you II I'liid inan\ jjcojjle there. All day long 
the old and young, men and women and children, arc going in, 
kneeling and coming out. Hats off as soon as you approach the 
outer door ; almost every man on the street takes off his hat as 
he passes the door of any church." 




58 



"Beautiful!" said the Captain in a whisper. "The white 
and gold make a ])leasing combination. The statues are par- 
ticularly good. I want to see that solid silver font, which is 
said to be worth a hundred thousand dollars." 

" You'll have to wait a good while before you see that. It's 
gone where the silver statues of the apostles went 
that Napoleon once found in a church." 

" Where is that?" asked the Captair 

"Napoleon said, 'What are these : 
standing here for? Melt them up, ai 
make them do as their Master did, "go 
about doing good." ' You'll learn 
about the confiscation of church 
property by and by, and then you'll 
know what became of the silver font. 
Come on, Captain." 

Crossing the street, they turned 
to look at the imposing front of 
the building. The material is 
brownstone, and the carvings are 
very fine. 

There are few more attractive 
towers in Mexico than the three 
of this church, one square, one 
tall and graceful, and one a 
mosque-like dome. 

" Things here are old in the 
matter of churches," said the Major, 
in 1612. It grew slowly, and was not completed till 1752." 

"Yes, I know," said the Captain, "these great buildings are 
the real century plants. Cologne Cathedral, I have read, re- 
quired more than six hundred years for completion." 

" Well, we'll see the best and leave the rest, boys. That old 
church up the hill is fine too, the church of San Jos^ ; but if we 




'-»M|6V 



"This building was begun 



59 



go into half the churches in the towns we visit, we shall have no 
time left for the other things." 

" Let's go to that fountain now," said the Corporal ; " that beats 
anything I ever saw." 

" Very well, notice the odd things along the streets as we go. 
The streets present a view of every-day life as the majority of 
the people of Mexico have it. You will see that it is a life of 
burden largely ; and if they were not the most patient people in 
the world, I should think life itself would be a great burden." 

"I noticed," said the Captain, 
" that everybody seems to be 
carrying something; babies, bags, 
boxes, bricks, fruit, hay, water, 
everything is carried on the head 
or back. Although in the city, I 
should say this is the hack country ; 
every building has been packed up 
on somebody's shouUersy 

" That reminds me of what a 
Boston lady wrote from here about 
some good lessons that the Ameri- 
cans might take from the Mexicans. 
She says, 'There is their way of 
holding the dear, dark little babies, 
with a long fold of the nurse's 
reboso, or scarf, wound around the little creature from mouth 
to hips, supporting the back and neck well, and throwing the 
child's weight on the bearer's shoulder, instead of her arms and 
hips.' Well, I thought, how do these babies like it, and now 
would our babies like it, and what is the matter with a baby 
carriage, and did the dear woman think that nurses in Mexico 
carry babies on their shoulders? Well, hardly. Mothers who 
tnust tote thv.-ir babies along carry them thus, so as to leave the 
arms free to carry their wares ; in fact, to get the young ones out 




60 




[l^mSSH^ 



of the way. Rut it is a fact that it is easier to carry a weight 
on your back or head than in your arms. These people, the 
men I mean, can hardly learn that any other way is possible. 
The contractor who is building the Baptist church, and who built 
the great market yonder, told me, while you were looking at 
that train of burros, that he introduced the wheelbarrow here. 




The Mexican laborer loaded the vehicle, and then put it on his 
head and carried it into the building ! The American showed 
him how to wheel it, and, as he found it easier to take the load 
that way, he continued to wheel it ; but what do you think ! 
after dumping the load he put the wheelbarrow on his head and 
carried it back to the brick-pile. The same thing was true of 
the laborers who worked on the railroad." 



6i 



" I should think they would know better than that," said the 
Captain. " What did they think the wheel was for?" 

" Qtiien sabe! Captain. They don't seem to think. They 
go about their work mostly like Longfellow's ' dumb, driven cattle.' 
They are as patient and as tough as oxen." 

"Ah, there it is, there's the fountain," exclaimed the Corporal. 
"What a sight ! " 

" Yes, it is a sight. I've stood and watched them for an hour 
at a time," said the Major, " so eager and active. Come up 
close to the basin and you'll see why they have to almost stand 
on their heads to get the water, and why it takes so long to fill 
one of their jars." 

From the centre of a stone basin, about twenty feet in diameter, 
rises a fountain ; water is flowing by half a dozen small streams 
into the reservoir, around which are constantly fifty or sixty people 
ready to catch the first drop that comes within reach. The 
water never attains a depth of half an inch in the reservoir, 
except in the night. What accumulates then is all carried away 
before the visitor is up. As the wall of the basin is quite high, 
short people have a hard time to get any ; all have to balance 
across the wall and scoop up what they can. The implement 
mostly used is a piece of gourd or a piece of tin slightly bent. 
Jars of red clay with large mouths are the most common articles 
for transportation ; they are carried on the shoulder. However, 
in recent times, the large square oil cans of commerce have 
displaced the jar. Whole families seem to come to the fountain. 
One member will dip awhile, a second holds the baby and 
gossips with the neighbors, while a third looks on ; then the 
third dips awhile, the first holds the baby, and the second 
looks on. It takes hours to fill a can or a jar when business is 
lively, that is, when the walls are crowded with the dippers. 

"Well," said the Captain, after the party had gazed on the 
scene long enough, " that is certainly worth coming to see. It is 
an Oriental scene, and I do not wonder that visitors are struck 

62 



by the resemblance of things here to those in Morocco, Pales- 
tine, and the Orient generally." 

"Now let us go down to Guadalupe, and see, as many people 
think, the prettiest chapel in all Mexico. We have a ride of six 
miles down grade by gravity, and a return ride, up grade of 
course, by mule power. We get out of this ravine into a beau- 
tiful valley, and far away from 'the madding crowd.' " 

Down went the little train, looking and acting for all the world 
like a runaway train. But it kept the track and soon delivered its 




passengers, first and second class, right side up and in good 
order, in Guadalupe. 

Passing through the plaza and then through a little park in 
front of the church, the party entered the building, where they 
found a large number of worshippers. The high altar is sur- 
rounded by large statues of the chief actors in the crucifixion, 
and seems to stand on Calvary itself, as there is behind it a great 
painting showing a multitude such as we may suppose sur- 
rounded the three crosses in Judaea. 

The chapel is the gem of the establishment. It is not an old 
building, but it is beautiful beyond description. The inlaid floor 



(>Z 



of different colored woods ; the gorgeous decorations of the altar, 
displaying silk and gold and silver and onyx trimmings ; the 
frescos on walls and dome, — all combine to make a most pleas- 
ing impression on the eye. 

"Who pays for these costly altars?" asked the Captain. "The 
people seem too poor to do it ! You say this cost half a million 
dollars?" 

"Ah, you know 'mony a puckle maks a muckle' ; and enough 
ceniavos will make a peso. But this chapel, like many others in the 
country, is the gift of a lady of wealth. Let us be thankful to her 
for giving the world something new and pretty, and for refrain- 
ing from 'improving' (and spoiling) some beautiful old thing. 
We ought to go to the orphanage here," added the Major, 
"but we have not time enough. It occupies an old convent, and 
is one of the most interesting places in Mexico. It seems to me 
in utility to be ahead of the famous Hospicio of Guadalajara. 
Here are about three hundred orphan boys being taken care of and 
taught useful trades. They run a bakery which supplies their own 
establishment and some other public institutions ; they make the 
cloth for their own clothes, and they do most of the public 
printing of the city. That is a practical charity." 

"Indeed it is," said the Captain; "I'd like to go through their 
building and see them at work. Don't you think that they are 
making a better use of the old convent than the old monks 
did?" 

"Well, 'comparisons are odorous,' you know, Captain. Let us 
say, we're glad the orphans have a home, and that the good old 
padres builded better than they thought." 

"Vamonos ! a Zacatecas." 

Six mules seem to have enough to do to get the train up to 
the starting point in Zacatecas, but they get there in time. 

Rising early the next morning the party went to the great 
market, one of the finest institutions of the kind in the Republic. 
It is an immense iron structure, recently erected, for two pur- 

64 




poses, trade and recreation. The ground floor is devoted to 
trade, and the upper floor to music and dancing on occasion. 
Whoever fails to visit the market places of Mexico misses half 
the fun of the trip. There, as nowhere else, the native is at 
his best, and at her best, for the women are in the majority. 
Everything you can think of, from a pepper to a pig, is on 
sale ; chile, charcoal and chickens, tortillas, tomalcs and turkeys, 
beans and brooms, nuts and iiaraiicas, fruits and roots, sandals, 
and sweets, and almost every namable 
thing you can think of is for sale or 
trade. In the market place you will 
always find a lively scene, and one 
worth going to see. 

Back to the Zacatecano for coffee 
and rolls, and thence to the station, 
was the programme now. Another 
look at the fountain scene, a glance 

into open doors of the hovels called houses, a ride up the long 
hill, and they are there half an hour before train time. They 
paid a visit to the old pantheon or cemetery, just across the 
track near the station. 

"There is something old over there, boys, but I think you'll 
see something new," said the Major, on the way. 

" What can there be new there ? " asked the Captain. 

" It was new to me to see human bones kicked around in a 
graveyard." 

" What ! how came the bones there? " 

"Well, that is the new thing I was telling you of. At home 
we buy lots in cemeteries, and expect that when we lie down in 
them we shall not be disturbed. Here, space for burial is 
bought by many people for a period only, say of five years. 
When the time expires, the occupant of that space must make 
room for another tenant. If friends come to receive the 
remains of the late lamented, well and good ; but if not, said 



65 



remains are subject to eviction, and hence these bones of the 
human anatomy which are often seen in these enclosures." 

" Well, Major, I'll take your word for it. I see the tonribs, 
and I think I don't care to see any more. Let us walk down the 
track again and get that view of the city." 

"Good," said the Corporal, "that's the best thing we can do, 
and I want to see them load that donkey with wood again." 

" But we must look at this fine station, too. It is not large, 

but there's a lot of business done there. Let us look into the 

freight-house. We can see the city as we go along in the train." 

A visit to the freight- house gave the boys some idea of the 

great variety and quantity of the merchandise required by a 

great city like Zacate- 
cas, w h i c h manufac- 
tures very little and 
buys almost every- 
thing it uses. It 
also gave them an 
iilea of the prod- 
ucts of the sur- 
rounding region, 
which are brought 
in for shipment. A 
freight-house isn't 
very pretty, but like 
any plain schoolma'm it can tell you a whole lot that you didn't 
know before. In Mexico "pictures" are plenty at the pas- 
senger stations, but pesos are coined across the track at the 
freight-houses. 

The descent of the mountain to the plain on the south of 
Zacatecas is, if possible, more exhilarating than the ascent from 
Calera. The train runs round the rim of the basin in which 
the city lies, passes in a few minutes from the station eastward 
over one of the great mines, under the walls of a reduction works, 




66 



and turns the point of the mountain. Along the side of this 
its course is due west to the head of a great ravine, where it 
resumes its course south for a moment, and then runs east again 
along the other side till the point of another mountain is 
turned, when a straight course is taken to the plain. This ra- 
vine is a busy spot. In it are several works for the treatment 
of ores. You can look directly down into the yards where the 
"patio process" is in operation. From these two turning points 
of the mountain fine views of the city and of the valley leading 
down to Guadalupe are obtained. You see across the valley 




^^gj^a^^^^^gj^^^^ 



the little train on its runaway trip to the suburban city, and 
you notice also the numerous reduction works and mills along 
the valley. 

After a six-mile run, and a descent of five hundred feet, the 
station of Guadalupe is reached. In a straight line it is not 
more than three miles from Zacatecas ; but a straight line 
wouldn't be so picturesque, even if it were possible. The 
station is about a mile west of the town, and high above it. The 
view across the valley is charming. The group of graceful 
churches, with their towers and tiled domes and minarets, domi- 
nates the landscape. How different this from the close and 
crowded city under the mountains which we have just left ! As 



67 



far as the eye can reach to the south and east, the valley glows 
with green and gold. Away beyond Ciuadakipe, in the east, a 
little lake glistens like a mirror in an emerald frame. It is Lake 
Pevernaldillo. On its farther shore, among the trees, can be 
seen the walls and chimneys of a large pottery, which supports 
the little town of Ojo Caliente, and which supplies the women at 
the fountains in Zacatecas, and at many other places, with their 
jars for water, and other wares for household use. For twenty- 
five miles we continue our ride across this beautiful valley, which 
is largely under cultivation. 

At Soledad we are in the immediate vicinity of salt and soda 
lakes, which give employment to many men, and considerable 




business to the road. In the forty miles from Zacatecas we 
have dropped some fifteen hundred feet, and now we have almost 
a straight and level line to Aguas Calientes. 

We keej) now in a fertile and cultivated country for many 
miles. On either side of the train we see haciendas, some near 
and others farther away; beyond, are fields of corn and grain, 
as well as groves and orchards. Around us are the hills, every- 
where the hills, now blue, now brown, now puri)le. Passing 
Rincon, Pabellon, and Las Animas, we come to C'hicalote, where 
we cross a little stream which rejoices in the strong name of Rio 
Brazos Santiago. This Chicalote is not a large or an important 



68 



station, as you will observe, but it is the point of departure of 
the Tampico branch from the main Hne ; trains for that divis- 
ion, however, are made up at Aguas Calientes, nine miles south 
of Chicalote. Soon on our right we see the campanil of the 
parish church, the domes and towers of other churches, and 
in a few minutes we arrive at Agnas Calientes, one of the most 
charming cities in Mexico. 




69 



" But whate'er smacke<l of nuyance or unrest 
Was far, far off expellM from this lielicious nest." 

Castle of Indolence. 

I the Station there is ahvays great activity. Besides 

the usual reception committee, three trains are 

there at once, — the train from Mexico, the train 

from 'lampico, and the one from El I'aso. 

Hustle and bustle, and all over in half an hour, 

till next day at the same time when the trains 

from the border, the coast, and the cai)i- 

tal meet here again. 

" Aguas Calientes is a busy place, "'ex- 
claimed the Captain. 

"Is it always like this?" asked the 

Corporal. " Why this is like a fair or a 

market day. Look at those men with 

their feather-work, their cotton and linen 

napkins, their mosaic and hair-work, candies, and fruits, and, 

well, no end of things." 

" Yes, this is their chance, and they make the most of it. Let's 
get out of the crowd." 

" Dinner is ready. Major, let's go in." 

" .All right, we always get a good meal here. A French pro- 
prietor looks after things, and we'll find things good enough for 
anybody." 

After a satisfactory dinner, the party took a look about the 
station before going to the cily, which is a mile off to the west. 







70 



They saw a large commodious building with convenient offices, 
restaurant, waiting and baggage rooms. Up the track were the 
large freight-houses and the shops and buildings for repairing and 
housing the motive- power. Across a little plaza were several fine 
houses which the company had just completed for the use of 
their agents or employees. It was evident, from the amount of 
property here, that the company regards this as one of the most 
important points on the line. 

Plere also is a fine hospital for the employes of the road. 
The hospital service of the Central is most efficiently equipped. 
Besides the buildings here and at Chihuahua, there are others at 
Tampico, at Guadalajara, and at the city 
of Mexico. These establishments are 
supported by contributions and by as- 
sessments upon the wages of employes. 
When the men require hospital service 
they have it free, and have the best treat- .^ 
ment that medical science can provide. 

As the junction point of the Tampico 
division it, of necessity, has more busi- , -- : ^Hi.^ - 

ness and requires the services of a larger number of men than 
any station we have seen, excepting the terminal point, Juarez. 

A stroll from the southern end of the station brought them to 
the old paseo of the town, through which street cars run from 
the railroad east a mile to the famous springs, and west a mile to 
the plaza of the city. 'Y\i\% paseo or alameda is an avenue, not 
paved, however, shaded by immense trees, which form by their 
limbs and foliage a continuous green arch. 

On one side of this avenue is the ditch or narrow canal 
through which flows the water from the springs, and which affords 
the average citizen, male and female, old and young, the use of 
a laundry and a bath-house free of price. 

" How different this from Zacatecas ! " said the Captain. 
" Like another world ! " 



71 




" Yes, and a beautiful world too," said the Corporal. 

" Very different and very beautiful," added the Major. 
" Plain instead of mountain, comfort instead of cold ; shed 
your overcoat here. Water, and plenty of it. No standing 
on your head to scoop it up. Generous old Lady Nature not 
only gives plenty, but gives it hot for washing and cold for 
drinking. Here is where the free Mexican citizen disports him- 




self under the cottonwood and chaparral ; the whole family, too, 
does the same thing, and neither native nor visitor makes any 
one afraid." 

" Well, let's go and try the waters ourselves ; is the bath-house 
far away?" asked the Corporal. 

" No, right here close to the station. The old baths are at 
the eastern end of this avenue, but a short walk will bring us to 
the Banos Chicos, the newest and finest baths of the place." 

" Come on then," said the Captain, "what are we here for, 
I should like to know, if not to go in swimming?" 

"Can we have a swim, a real swim?" asked the Corporal. 

'•Certainly, you'll see as fine a pool as the one you like so 
much, ' down at the big rock,' and a great deal warmer." 



72 



"What a pretty building ! See the bright green plants, and 
the brilliant flowers. Why, this is a park ; palms, bananas, 
orange-trees ! Where are we at?" asked the Corporal. 

" This is the place, here we can get any kind of a bath we 
may want. We want a swim, of course." 

Down the long corridor from one court to another, past the 
little cells where shower and tub baths are supplied, they came 




to the great pool in which half an hour of luxury was enjoyed, 
and from which they came out feeling as chipper as a sparrow 
after its morning flutter in a fountain. 

" Now for the hotel and a look at the city," said the Major. 
" The Plaza Hotel is kept by an American and on the Amer- 
can plan, so far as circumstances will allow. The table is good, 
and you are made to feel at home as soon as you enter the house. 
All the rooms open upon a beautiful patio filled with plants and 
flowers. If the great membrillo-tree in the corner is in blossom, 
you will see something very handsome and very rare." 

The plaza is well kept, and the taste displayed in winding 
walks, artistic grouping of flowers, and variety of plants makes it 
very attractive to visitors as well as to the residents. Around 
the square are fine buildings; the parish church on one side, the 



73 



government palace on another, the hotel and stores on a third, 
and fine stores on the fourth. The streets are wide and are 
kept clean. Two lines of street cars provide the people with 
cheap rides to the suburbs. The visitor has a choice of twelve 
churches and of three bathing establishments. The garden of 
San Marcos is like a section of the Alameda in Mexico, and sur- 
passes that beautiful park in the display of flowers. 

It was very fortunate for the visitors that they were here on a 
feast day, for it gave them an opportunity to see more people 

from the surrounding coun- 
try, and to see them to 
better advantage than or- 
dinary circumstances would 
offer. It was the day of 
NuestraSenora de la Asun- 
cion, to whom the largest 
church is dedicated. The 
building was decked with 
flags from ground to tip 
of the beautiful campanile. 
Business was suspended, 
and everybody was out for 
a holiday. 

The Corporal was es- 
pecially interested in the 
bells, which were ringing 
all day. Each bell had a 
ringer of its own. A pe- 
culiarity' of Mexico, which any keen observer will notice, is that 
bells are not rung by ropes, but are tumbled over and over 
by liand. Above the bells are blocks which afford a leverage, 
and which about balance the bell. The ringer, pulling at the 
top, easily turns the bell over, and once revolving he keeps it 
going. Another thing noticeable here is, bells are not hung in 




74 



chimes. Each one goes it alone, and the effect on the ear when 
a half-dozen or more bells are going as they please, and are not 
in unison with each other to start with, is not the most agree- 
able. The ringers seem to be on a race and keep at it till they 
are exhausted, when new ringers give them a rest ; but the bells, 
the bells ! they get and give no rest. 

" I want another swim," said the Captain. " I.et's go to the 
other bath-house, the old one." 

" VVe can't spend too much of our time in the water, my boy. 
We must look around this place, there is much to see that is 
worth coming to see. The governor's palace is something very 
beautiful, and the market is very entertaining. We must give 
more time to land than to water, even in Aguas Calientes. 

"By the way, „_. 
see how nicely """^ ^-p^^' 

the stone in the 

walls is dressed. ' ] 

No such work . ..^..^.-^-^ { 

can be done in 
adobe. 

"This town is ' 
remarkable for t 
the fine display ^ 
of carved stone 
in its street ar- 
chitecture. 




" Down the new faseo, or boulevard, to the river is a beau- 
tiful drive, and there is a little park there devoted to picnics. 
Not every town in Mexico can have such a variety of parks and 
places of recreation as this. After that we must look into the 
old Church of San Diego and see those mosaic floors of wood. 
We ought to go to jail too." 

" To jail ! I've heard that Mexican jails are terrible places." 
" The people here are particularly proud of their jail. It is 



75 



really a fine thing fur a jail — in Mexico. Oh, there's lots to dOj 
and not much time to do it in ; so vamanos ! " 

"Well, Major, isn't this the land of maiiana?" 

"Not for us, Captain. It may be that for the natives." 

"We'll do what we can this afternoon, and then take time for 
that other swim, when we leave for the station in the morning." 

"Lead on, O Spartacus, to church or jail, I'll follow thee." 

" I think this is rushing things," said the Corporal. 

After supper the party went to the plaza and listened to the 
music. This was the boys' first experience of the evening use 
of a plaza ; they were delighted with the provision made for 
entertainment. Fine music, comfortable seats, bright lights, and 
pleasant promenades. One thing impressed them as rather 
odd. The Captain inquired, — 

" How is this? I don't see men and women walking or sitting 
or talking together. The gentlemen go one way around the 
park, and the ladies the other." 

"Yes, that's the way here. The custom of the country, in all 
parts the same, doesn't allow of the mingling of the maidens and 
youth in public or in private, as they mingle in our country, nor 
anything approaching it. If you see a lady and gentleman 
together here, you may conclude that they are members of the 
same family, or are soon to become such. As to talk, there is a 
language of the eye which is widely spoken on these prom- 
enades. That they may see and be seen, they promenade in 
opposite directions." 

"That wouldn't suit me," said the Corporal. 

" Nor me," added the Captain. 

" Well, it has to suit the Mexican, and he has to suit himself 
to the traditions and social laws of the land. Some time you'll 
see an interesting sight — a young man 'playing the bear,' and 
then you'll think he has hard lines sure." 

"What in the world is that, playing the bear? Does he play 
alone and in public? That must be fun ! " 

76 



" Yes, he has to play it alone and quite in public, anfl I 
suppose it is fun, or he wouldn't play it. The game must 
be seen to be appreciated. I'll show it to you in the city 
of Mexico. Remind me of it some day when we are ram- 
bling there." 

After breakfast they took another stroll through the famous 
garden of San Marcos, made another visit to the market, and 
thus completed their exploration of Aguas Calientes. l"he boys 
were enthusiastic in their exclamations upon the certain but 
almost undefinable charm of the city and its suburbs. 

"It is quite dull, just now," said the Major. "To see it at 
its best, we want to be here between the 20th of April and 
the loth of May. That is the great fiesta of the year, and 
that period also includes the Mexican fourth of July. St. 
Mark is the patron saint of these people, and for two weeks 
they celebrate his virtues, although they do not closely imi- 
tate them. Turkeys are ripe at that season, and thousands 
of them are picked by the pious pilgrims to la fiesta de San 
Marcos." 

Leaving the hotel in ample time, they soon arrived at the 
Banos Grandes, or big baths, at the east end of the Alameda. 
The car stops on the edge of a large pool, on the farther 
shore of which are several large adobe bath-houses. These 
enclose perhaps twenty separate baths, of different sizes and 
degrees of temperature. Each one has a name, usually that 
of some saint. The boys wanted a swimming bath, and so 
chose the one properly named for St. John the Baptist, and 
found a pool twelve feet square, open to the sun. In this 
pool they splashed and swam to their hearts' content, and in 
half an hour the party were ready to return. They then 
walked around the pond and saw a dozen women washing 
clothes on flat stones, and hanging them on the bushes in 
the sun to dry. • 

"Is that warm water?" asked the Captain. 

77 




GARDEN OF SAN SfARCOS. 



Certainly ,t as the spring water ; it comes up inside the 

buildings, and flows out into this pool ; from that it flows to 

own through the canal which passes under the track close by 

the station. In the bath named San Ramon the wat^r is 



78 



hottest, being about ninety-six degrees. In the canal it is sixty- 
five degrees or less." 

As they walked along the canal they saw scores of men, 
women, and children getting a free bath. The Major saluted 
everybody with the tuenos dias, and the salute was cordially 
returned in every case. The boys could say nothing in Spanish, 
the only language worth talking there ; but they kept up a lively 
looking all the way, and made sundry remarks to each other and 
to the Major. 

"Don't these people object to visitors?" 




"No, they don't care a centavo who sees them. In fact, they 
rather like American visitors, for no one of them would pass 
these little chocolate muchachos without dropping a few centa\os 
into their chubby hands." 

There was, of course, a remarkable absence of clothes and 
conventionalities, but everything about the bathing business was 
conducted modestly and with as much regard to the proprieties 



79 



as circumstances would allow. There was, really, nothing more 
there to shock a delicate sense than one will see at any fashion- 
able bathing beach in the States. 

On account of the /les/a there were more people than usual 
enjoying the luxury of the canal. Of course swimming is not 
practicable because the canal is narrow; but sitting baths are 
taken by wholesale along the entire length of the bath-tub, from 
the pool to the railroad station. Not only nor chiefly for bath- 
ing is the canal used by the people : it is the great laundry of the 

city. Every day in the year 
scores and sometimes hun- 
dreds of women come to its 
banks to do their washing. 
The bushes afford a ready 
clothes line, and by the time 
t'ne lavandera has taken her 
own bath, her washing is 
dried and bleached. 

"I wish we could stay 
here longer," said the Cap- 
tain, " this is the finest place 
I've seen." 

"So do I," said the Corporal. "There can't be anything 
nicer. I would like to stay a week." 

Resuming the journey southward, we continue through a 
region very similar to that about Aguas Calientes, We are in the 
better part of Mexico. Culti\ated fields abound, and everywhere 
are proofs of fertility and industry. Haciendas are more fre- 
quently to be seen, and the green fringes on the landscape tell 
the story of streams. In an hour and a quarter we enter the 
state of Jalisco, and soon see on the right of the train a consid- 
erable town, a mile or two distant. Above the town rise the 
graceful towers and dome of a church. The town is Encarnacion, 
the church is the Candelaria. 



• th^ Jltkk^^d 




M 


f 


B 


HL 


■f^ 


-i 


9 


i 




■1 



80 



We now come to the longest and highest bridge on the whole 
line. It crosses the barranca through which runs the little river 
Encarnacion. The bridge is seven hundred and thirty-five feet 
long, and is one hundred and fifty feet above the stream. Look- 
ing down into the gorge on the left side of the train, we see how 
people manage in this country to secure and conduct water to 
their towns and fields. A fine piece of stone-work makes a 
reservoir of the river, and the water is led off in ditches. One 
bridge has been carried away by this innocent-looking stream, 





but the present structure seems able to defy the utmost mis- 
chief or malice of the flood. 

Beyond the town, on the hillside, we see the city of the dead, 
the Campo Santo, with its white walls and chapel. The railroad 
station is beyond the bridge, about a mile from the town. A 
tramway connects the city and the station, passing through San 
Pedro, a suburb. The dome of the church of San Pedro is very 
imposing, far surpassing that of the parish church of Encar- 
nacion. Within the next two hours we pass a number of large 
haciendias and see numerous artificial lakes, or presas, which 
store the water for irrigating the lands. 





A quaint station is that of Santa Maria, and not less so that 
of Santa Barbara, below which we climb a sharp grade to Los 
Salas, and immediately descend to Lagos, the next station 
of importance. This is a thriving city of twenty thousand 
population and the centre of trade for a very rich agricultural 
district. The station building, a handsome two-story struc- 
ture of adobe, and the freight- house show that the people 

of this much-laughed-at place 
are not slow in the business 
either of shipments or of con- 
Mmiption. 

There are numerous stories 
about the people of Lagos, 
"^"^r* which, if true, show them to be 
somewhat like ; o' ^ Falstaff, " not only witty, but the cause 
that wit is in other men." 

It is said that there is an inscription on the bridge which 
reads, "This bridge was built in Lagos," and that some one 
added to that inscription making it read, "This bridge was 
built in Lagos to walk under and not over." 

That is nearly as bad as a notice by the government in 
Oaxaca which announces a fine on any one " crossing on the 
bridge when the stream is not too high to ford." 

Again, they say, that the council of twelve was to hold a 
meeting in the hall where was a bench on which all should sit. 
Six came, and each put his hat beside him on the bench. When 
the other six came, there was no room for them. It was 
decided to stretch the bench. Each man ])ut his hat on his 
head and the twelve men pulled on the bench, six at each 
end. Then they all sat down, for the bench was now long 
enough for them all. 

This is a current legend in Mexico : In some work on the 
plaza, at Lagos, a hole was dug, and left unfilled ; several 
children fell into it. The council held a session, and ordered 



82 



it filled. It was filled, by dirt dug near by; and lo ! there was 
another hole ! Now that was ordered filled. It was filled but 
lo ! there was still a hole, as dangerous as the first, but of course 
farther away from the plaza. By a series of fillings the succes- 
sive holes were annihilated, and the last hole was away out of 
town ! Thus was the dangerous hole moved from the plaza of 
Lagos. 

Again, it was reported that grass was growing on the roof of 
a public building. The council resolved that the grass must be 
removed. But how? After serious deliberation it was ordered 
that an incline be made, and a cow driven up to eat the grass 
from the roof! Thus will some unkind inventor of fairy tales 
slander the good people of Lagos. 

Lagos has had a hard time within the last few years. The 
diligences which used to connect with the railroad the great 
cities of Guadalajara, two hundred and ten miles on the west, 
and San Luis Potosi, one hundred and fifty miles on the east, 
have been remanded to the realms of "innocuous desuetude" 
by the railroad itself, which now has branches to both cities. 
Thus Lagos lost much of its importance as a passenger station. 
And again, the city suffered enormously by the diastrous flood 
of 1888. Many lives were lost then, and a vast amount of 
property was destroyed ; but in spite of slander and of raging 
streams, Lagos still lives and flourishes. 

The scenery about Lagos is beautiful. The view here pre- 
sented will give the reader a faint conception of the charm 
of the valley. For the first time the traveller from the north 
meets the organ-cactus, so called from its resemblance to the 
pipes of an organ. It makes a pretty fence, needs no paint, 
in fact is always fresh, and grows ready barbed. It is hog 
and dog proof, almost bullet proof. Picturesque to a degree 
is an a\enue between hedges of this organo, and musical to 
a degree does the viuchacho become who attempts to climb the 
fence. 

83 



The Hotel de Diligencias is said to be one of the best in all 
Mexico. Janvier, who seems to know them all, says, " It is quite 
worth while to stop at this pretty little town for a day or two, 
solely for the sake of benefiting by Don Pedro's culinary skill. 
He is a Gascon, an old soldier, and a cook of noble parts." 

Twenty miles south of Lagos we enter the state of Guanajuato ; 
descending lower into the valley, we soon arrive at Leon, a large 
and flourishing city, noted for its manufactures, delightfully sit- 

■ uated in the midst of 
gardens on the banks of 
the Rio Turbio. 

The people of Leon 
seem to believe, with 
ihe old tanner, that 
after you have said 
and done all, there is 
nothing like leather." 

Here leather is made 
and here leather is 
turned into shoes, san- 
dals, and saddles. Leon 
re\ els in the rcboso and 
scintillates in the za- 
ijpe. The jclwso is the 
universal woman's wrap, 
"> . . ^ ur the universal wrap of 
vv-. 'iiLiu i:i M. \ii M. '1 ill' (I mini- ill . » iiton shawl or scarf, generally 
blue or brown, that you see on the common class women, is the 
rcboso. The better class wears a black garment of the same 
scarf kind, called a tapalo; and the lady of high degree, one 
made of fine wool or lace, called the vianiilla, which is the fetch- 
ing, finishing garment of the senorita of song and story. 

The zarape is the man's wardrobe, or at least the most impor- 
tant piece of it. This is likewise a scarf or shawl. Nothing 




84 



seems to delight the male Mexican like "a bit of color," unless 
it be two or three bits, and accordingly this indis])ensable gar- 
ment, to have value in his eyes, must rival Joseph's coat as to 
colors. The gayer it is the better it suits the vv^earer. We would 
call the zarape a blanket perhaps, and so it is by night, but by 
day it is a cloak. When the average Mexican man gets under 
his great sombrero and within his zarape, there isn't much to be 
seen of the man. 

Leon annually makes thousands and thousands of zarapes 
and rebosos, and also great quantities of soap, cutlery, and com- 
mon crockery. It used to be counted the second city in the 
Republic, but by the latest returns it is the sixth in population. 
It has, of course, a plaza mayor and a dozen smaller parks. 

The Cathedral of Leon is a handsome building, begun in 
1746. It has no aisles, but has two very high towers (finished 
in 1878). The patroness of Leon is Our Lady of Light, whose 
image is in the Cathedral. The city government solemnly swore 
allegiance to her. May 23, 1840, and Pope Pius IX. approved 
the act Dec. 20, 185 i. That does not seem very long ago, does 
it? It is known, however, that there was a Spanish town here 
before 1550, so the town is old, even if Our Lady of Light is 
young as patroness. 

Leon has every appearance of thriftiness. The people all 
seem to be busy, and their houses, many of them of stone, show 
the results of profitable labor. Much of the manufacturing is 
done at home. The old-fashioned hand loom is a more frequent 
article of furniture than the piano, and its operation is constant. 
The people take their music in the plaza and at the theatre. 
The main plaza here is like that of all large towns, but more 
attractive than that of many. The square enclosing it is formed 
by the city hall on one side, and rows of colonnades or portales 
on the other three sides. There are also eight or ten smaller 
plazas in Leon. The paseo is part of the highway to Silao, but 
such another you can scarcely find in Mexico. It is a cause- 

S5 



way paved with a reddish stone, shaded by triple rows of great 
trees, and bordered by hedges of orange-trees. Fancy a prome- 
nade through such an aisle, on the sides of which are displayed 
at the same moment the green leaf, the white blossom, and the 
yellow fruit ! 

Then the theatre at Leon ! that surprises everybody who visits 
it. It is worth stopping over to see. It is even more beautiful 
than the famous Teatro Nacional of the capital. A lady thus 
writes of it : "A fine edifice of stone, with a great open vestibule 

•II if "\1 




roKTAI.r.S AT Aia'AS CAI.IKNTKS. 



sixty feet square as entrance, filled with flower beds, a fountain 
in the centre, and domed with glass, into which opened the wide 
galleries by four separate flights of broad stone steps. Behind 
every group of eight seats a latticed door gave egress to the 
gallery on each of the four stories, so that no possible panic 
could produce more than a momentary result." 



86 



The city is a mile or more away from the station, and no one, 
without going to it, would imagine that surrounding the great 
dome and lofty towers of the Cathedral in sight there was a town 
which boasts of more than five hundred streets, more than two 
hundred blocks, and more than eight thousand houses. Leon 
is a lion in a pretty cage, well fed and happy. 

The Mexican Central runs a local daily train to and from 
Leon and Guanajuato and the city of Mexico. The people of 
these two large cities, and of all stations below Leon, enjoy 
therefore the luxury of two passenger trains a day, while those 
above have to be content with one. 




87 



VI. 

"Tricks he hath in liiin which j^cntlemen have." 

Airs Well Thai Em/s IVell. 

" Asleep in the lap of legends old." 

T/ie Eve of St. Agnes. 

ILAO is certainly a place of importance to every trav- 
eller on the Central road, as it is a supper station for 
south-bound and a breakfost station for north-bound 
trains. This statement indicates that the remaining 
distance (two hundred and thirty-eight miles) be- 
tween Silao and the capital is passed over in the 
night. Whoever goes over this part of the line by 
night loses some very fine scenery. The boys did 
not wish to miss anything interesting, and both said 
at once, " Let us stop over at Silao, and take the rest 
of the trip by daylight." 
"We will do so," replied the Major. "The restaurant in the 
station is first-class, and for lodging there are two good hotels 
near the station. No danger now ' after dark in Silao.' It is 
a place of sunshine by day and of silence by night. Once 
the headquarters of the dreaded banditti, it is now a division 
headquarters of the * army of civilization,' and, of course, this 
means extensive shops, round-house, and other buildings per- 
taining to the operating department of the road. There must 
necessarily be quite a colony of railroail people here, and there 
is always quite a colony of people in search of rest, recreation, 
or health. The climate of Silao is equable and delightful. 

88 




Many who find the capital too high or too anything for com- 
fort, come to Silao, which is two thousand five hundred feet 
lower, and therefore affords relief and a radical change from 
life in a poorly drained city, at an elevation of more than seven 
thousand feet." 

From Silao a branch road runs to the great mining city 
Guanajuato, capital of the state. 

The principal business of Silao is the grinding of wheat. 
Next to maize the greatest crop of Mexico is trigo, or wheat, and 
this state of Guanajuato produces large quantities of it as well as 
of silver. The grain is sown between November and January 
and harvested in April and May. Its yield is from fifteen to 
forty times the seed. Instances of a crop one hundred times 
the seed are not uncommon. Humboldt says that Mexican 
wheat is among the best in the world. The crop of 1880, in 
this country, was valued at $18,000,000, while the corn crop 
was valued at $113,000,000. You see the proportion; corn is 
king. The bread of Mexico is not the wheaten loaf, but the 
thin tortilla made from meal and without yeast. 

" Oh, the tortilla; tell us about that, Major." 

"There isn't much to tell. You have read about the 'two 
women grinding at the mill' in Palestine two thousand years ago. 
Just so the women grind in Mexico to-day. They soften corn 
and lay it on a flat stone called a inetdte, and with another stone, 
shaped like a rolling-pin, they grind the corn to a paste. This 
paste is patted into thin cakes, and baked quickly on another 
flat stone or metal plate." 

" And what about ' Mexican potatoes,' Major? " 

"Oh,fnjoles: they are beans. They form the principal food 
of the common people. They grow with the corn, being 
planted between the rows, and the value of the crop in 1880 
was about $9,000,000 ; half that of the corn crop, you see. 
The old bill of fare of the poor of Mexico is the same to-day 
that it was a thousand years ago, and p<robably will be a thou- 

89 



sand years hence. Frijoles and chile, beans and red pepper, 
soft and hot, reaching the spot, twice a day sure, everyday in 
the year. If corn is king, beans are close to the throne." 

" I should think, Major, that it must be hard work to grind at 
such a mill as you describe," said the Captain. 

" It is hard work, my boy. Talk about the old wash-board, that 
meant scrub and scrub, but that doesn't mean the work it takes 
to run such a mill ; and yet these women will get down on their 
knees, or crouch flat on the ground, and keep 
mill going from morning till night. But 
Ml they don't have many dishes to wash." 
How is that?" 

'Why, you'll see when you observe how 
they eat their tortillas and frijoles. 
They spread the beans on the corn 
cake, holding the cake as a plate. 
They double up another cake for a 
scoop, and with this they shovel the 
beans into their mouths; when the 
l)eans are gone they eat the plate and 
the scoop, and there are no dishes to 
wash ! " 

"That's a good scheme," exclaimed 
the Corporal ; " I wonder how that 
would work in Boston?" 

"Not style enough about it," said 

the Captain. "Can we get tortillas and fri- 

' -^ joles in Silao?" 
"You can get them anywhere and everywhere in Mexico, if 
you can get anything at all. I never struck but one place where 
they could not be had," said the Major ; " that was way down in 
Lower California. We asked for corn, for beans, for eggs, and 
for 'anything in the world' to eat, and all the reply we could get 
was, ' No hay, seiior' (there are none, sir). And it was a fact. 




90 



r- 



The poor people had not a single mouthful 

of food in their hovel, which we named 

Hotel de No Hay. We had a good supply 

of provender with us. We gave ^^,r<^'\ 

them one scjuare meal, and 

left them stuff enough ; 

for another when we R 

departed. You've ^ 

struck ' poverty ranch ' \ ^ ^^^ 

sure enough when you ^S^fc'^''' ^ V"**^^ 





can't find there tortillas and 
frijoles." 

There is nothing very re- 
markable at Silao, but a col- 
lection of fifteen thousand 
Mexicans is sure to be picturesque and entertaining, and Silao 
glories in that number. The churches are not extraordinary, 
but the Santiago displays one of the prettiest spires in Mexico, 
and the church of Vera Cruz contains a very ancient Santo 
Cristo. This figure is life size, and is said to date " from 



91 



before the Moorish conquest of Spain." If it is a fact, that 
image (of pith or whatever material it is made of) is the oldest 
European article in Mexico, The town of Silao dates from 
1553, and so itself is no mushroom growth. 

On the arrival of the branch train from Guanajuato and the local 
from Leon, the party bade adieu to Silao and resumed the jour- 
ney southward, passing through more of the same rich section 
which they had seen the day before. In 
fact, the whole run of a hundred miles 
through the state of Guanajuato from above 
Leon to below Celaya is made in the re- 
nowned Bajio region. It is a vast T-shaped 
depression or wide low plain (not exactly a 
valley), noted for its fertility and delightful 
climate. Its elevation is less than six thou- 
sand feet, and it has always been a favorite 
'7^: region for residence. It is 
1^ the most densely settled sec- 
- tion of the whole country. 
Seiior Barcena, author of 
a "History of the State of 
Jalisco," and of other im- 
jjurtant statistical works, says 
in Republicana Mexicana : 
" The Bajio is an extensive 
and rich region, where every 
year are raised enormous 
( rops of cereals. In this 
section many crops requiring irrigation are also raised, since 
there is an ample supply of water even in the dry season, 
coming from the reservoirs on the plantations. Besides this, 
subterranean water is found at little depth, and this facilitates 
irrigation. To this are due the many vegetable gardens and 
orchards of Leon and Salamanca." 




92 



Through such a region, the most productive in the Republic, 
does the Mexican Cen'.ral run for more than a hundred miles, 
and we may say for more than two hundred, since the Guadalajara 
branch covers one arm of the T. 

These general remarks will apply, therefore, to the lands seen 
on either side of the track between Leon and Quer^taro. It 
only remains to describe the various towns along the line. 

Twenty miles below Silao, after passing numerous haciendas, 
we come to Irapuato, the famous "strawberry station" of the 
country, from which point the Guadalajara branch starts for the 
beautiful " Lake Region " of Mexico and for La Perla del Occi- 
dente, as its terminal city is called. Irapuato has a population 
of about fourteen thousand. The town is about a mile 
away from the station, and the tourist, unless he goes to 
the plaza, can see nothing of Irapuato, but a few church and con- 
vent towers. He won't see much else, if he does go ; but the 
court of the convent is worth going to see, and so is the pretty 
little plaza or alameda itself. Here is the prettiest little nook 
imaginable, and such a queer conjunction of the antique and the 
modern. The antique is represented by the church and by the 
curious (in such a place) machinery for elevating water. Fancy 
an old-fashioned " crotch and pole " well-sweep in the Public 
Garden ! You have it in the alameda at Irapuato. The modern 
is represented by the charming little zocoio, or music stand, and 
the artistic flower beds margined and banked with different 
colored pebbles laid in mosaics. 

Most of the people are out in the strawberry-beds probably, 
but there will be enough there to make it lively for you in dis- 
tributing centavos. One will find that it is a peculiar place in 
some respects. One can see hereabout the old Egyptian style 
of irrigation, the results of which are seen in the baskets of 
delicious fresas (strawberries), which every day in the year 
are to be had at Irapuato station, and so cheap too ! Dos 
reaks for a heaping basket of strawberries in March, say, or 

93 



in December ! And do you believe it, the buyer will beat down 
the seller, though the offer is basket and all for a quarter ! 
Sometimes, it is said, that there is more basket than berries ; 
but even if there is, the basket ought to be nearly worth that 
money. 

Between the trains the people about the station spend their 
time in sorting and "deaconing" the fruit. That word "deacon- 
ing" as applied, means "putting the best on top," as they say a 
certain good man did with his apples up in New Hampshire 
(some more slander, no doubt, on the good man), but these 
people do as I have saitl ; I ha\ c seen them at it. The baskets 




IKAl'l ATO SlArioN. 



offered sometimes show trickery. The consequence of a few 
such operations is that the buyer exi)ecls to be cheate<l, anil so 
gets his bargain as low as possible. I have seen fine baskets of 
fine berries bought for a real, and even for a dime. 

Thirteen miles below the strawberry station we come to what 
may be called the "straw hat " station, Salamanca; a pretty 
name for a busy place of about fifteen thousand inhabitants. 



94 



Everywhere along the way hither, and all about the city, are 
cultivated fields and lovely gardens. Salamanca exports kaolin 
and white clay ; also sells large quantities of leather goods ; but 
her chief article of commerce is the straw so)nl>rcro so univer- 
sally worn by men, women, and children of the lower class 
throughout the country. 

Not being a junction point, and being so near other more attrac- 
tive or interesting places, Salamanca is skipped by the great 
majority of tourists, but there is something worth seeing there. 
The avenues between cactus hedges are fine, and the gardens 
beautiful. The Church of San Augustin shows on its altars some 
of the finest specimens of wood carving in Mexico. 

But don't buy your sombrero till you get to the city of Mexico. 
You'll see a really fine article there, a really "way up" piece of 
head gear, large every way, wide brimmed, high crowned, with 
cord and tassel of silver or gold, costing all the way from five to 
fifty and even to three hundred dollars ! 

A short ride brings us to Celaya, a city of 25,000 people. 
This is the great "candy" town of Mexico. Huyler would be 
nowhere, in Celaya. His sweets are no more dear to the heart 
nor more sweet to the lips of the average girl than those of Celaya 
to the sweet-toothed sehorita. Indeed, some people, who have 
sampled the candies of many countries, say that the dukes of 
Celaya are " the best in the world." The Celaya dukes are 
made from sugar and milk. In Puebla we shall find some made 
from white sweet potatoes, in San Luis Potosi a cactus duke, 
and in Vera Cruz a squash candy. For my part I must say that 
of Mexican candies, "a little more than a little is by much too 
much." To look in on the many dukcrias one would think that 
a majority of the population is in the candy business, and in foct 
so it is, either as maker or buyer. But Celaya is a busy town, 
something like Leon ; it has bleacheries and factories ; here are 
made large quantities of soap, and of cotton and woollen goods, 
and of the reboso. 



95 



If railroad facilities count for anything, this ought to become a 
very important city, for the National crosses the Central here. 
Celaya is the commercial centre of a rich agricultural district, 
particularly of the valley of the Laja. The people of this town 
are evidently aware of the importance of good roads to and from 
Celaya. They have built and maintained a long and expensive 
causeway across the surrounding lowlands, which at certain 
seasons of the year would be almost impassable without this 
causeway. If not as impressive as the aqueduct at Quer^taro, 
it is quite as important in its own way. 

Celaya was founded in 1570 by a company of Biscayans, con- 
sisting of " sixteen married men with their wives and children, 
and seventeen young bachelors." They chose a pretty site for 
their town, and the king, Philip IV., made it a city by royal 
order in 1655, ^^''"lile the town of (luanajuato had to wait until 
I 741 for the honor. The Celayans will not let this fact be for- 
gotten. 

The Church of Our Lady of Carmen, in Celaya, is the master- 
piece of the Michael Angelo of Mexico, Kduardo Tresguerras, 
who was a native and lifelong resident of this city. He was 
an architect, sculptor, and painter. This church, containing 
some of his most celebrated frescos, is 220 feet long, 55 feet 
wide, and 69 feet high. It is not an old church (dating only 
from 1803), but it is one of the finest, some think the most at- 
tractive, of all the church buildings in Mexico. Other churches 
in Celaya also have specimens of Tresguerras's work. The 
splendid altars of the San Francisco group of churches and 
chapels, and also those of the church of the Tercer Orden, 
are the work of his hand. The tower of San Augustin, which 
excites the admiration of all visitors, is a monument to his skill, 
and the beautiful chapel of Dolores he built for his own tomb. 
Whoever wishes to see the best sj^ecimens of native architec- 
ture, sculpture, and painting must go to Celaya and study the 
work of Kduardo Tresguerras. 

96 



Shortly after leaving Celaya, we pass out of the state of 
Guanajuato and enter Quer^taro, one of the smaller divisions of 
the Republic, but a state that has made a lot of history. It is 
about half as large as Massachusetts, and is about as prominently 
connected with the great events of Mexico as the old Bay State 
is with those of the United States. In Aztec tradition the people 
of this region were spoken of as noted for their valor and for 
their fidelity to their vows. They had a goodly land ; they loved 
it and defended it in 
the olden time and no 
less in later times. 
We shall learn some- 
thing about their his- 
tory in our visit to 
their capital, which 
bears the same name 
as the state. 

" Quer^taro is one 
of the most interesting 
cities of Mexico." 

" How so ? " asked 
the Captain. "It 
doesn't seem to be a 
very energetic town." 

"Energetic !" re- 
plied the Major, "that 
word is hardly known 
in Mexico. This place has much of history connected with it, 
and also not a little of mystery. This beautiful valley could not 
fail to attract any one who wished to have a nice place to live in. 
Here is an atmosphere as near perfection the year round as can be 
found anywhere. Nature could do no more for any region than 
she has done for this, except to furnish plenty of water on the 
spot. That lack, however, could be supplied by the people, and 




97 



accordingly Querctaro has been a local habitation, and has had a 
name beyond the reconls of man. It is said to have been 
founded by the Otomites in 1400, and upon their chosen site 
has grown what you see, and much that has disappeared in the 
course of five centuries. 




" On'i cuti )i;s tradi'.ion belopgs to the early day of this town. 
It is a kind of David and Goliath affair, or perhaps nearer that 
of the Horatii and the Curatii ; and it has also some of the 
features of the famous story of Constantine's march. The tradition 
states that a native cacique, by name Fernando de Tapia, had a 
vocation to go and convert these people to Christianity. He 
organized an army and took along with his soldiers several 
priests to baptize the converts whom he was sure to secure. 

" Coming to Queretaro he proposed to the people that they 
should select champions to meet an equal number to be chosen 
by himself, and promise to abide by the results of the fight 



98 



between these champions. If Fernando's men should gain the 
victory, the people should submit to baptism and abandon the 
worship of their Aztec idols ; if the people's champions won, 
Fernando should withdraw his forces and leave Quer^taro as he 
found it ; this was the agreement. The fight raged all day. 
It was literally a hand-to-hand conflict, for the contestants were, 
by arrangement, to use only their hands and their feet. Doubt- 
less there were 'garments rolled in blood,' for cuffs and kicks 
can draw blood ; the people cheered their champions by shouts, 





^^'^^:^'\ ^.^,^H '-...;;- -^ifi^^^ ^ 






jiGL . ^'-V -.. 




K 

i 



and prayers, and by every conceivable demonstration that they 
could make. Suddenly in the sky above appeared, visible to 
every eye, the form of the blessed Santiago, and near him a red 
cross. This vision put an end to the battle. The people of 
Quert^taro yielded and begged the services of the priests. They 
erected a stone cross on the spot where the fight occurred, and 
in due time the Church of the Santa Cruz arose in its place. 
The original stone cross may now be seen in this church. 



99 



Quer^taro has been noted ever since for the number and the 
richness of its churches. You should be there on a Sunday 
morning and hear their bells. You would feel as if the lonely 
Selkirk on his island in the sea had a cause for gratitude rather 
than grief, where no church-going bell he could hear." 

" Why ? " asked the Captain, " don't you like to hear church 
bells?" 

" Nothing is sweeter to the ear, my boy, than those bells 
which call the people to worship, if they only call musically and 
sweetly. It has always struck me as a strange thing that the 
people of Mexico, who seem to have so much love of music, 
could endure the discord of the clanging bells on their churches. 
You'll know better what I mean after you've heard them. While 
we are speaking of churches, let me say that the church and 
convent of Santa Clara here was founded by the son of the 
afore-named Fernando, named Diego. This cacique had an only 
daughter for whom he was very anxious to provide ; he built this 
convent and made her its first novice. He also founded the 
church and hospital of the ' Purisima Concepcion.' " 

" Did you say he was an Indian?" 

"Yes, a chief, as was his father; but the Indians were given 
over to idolatry, and so a good monk made them an image to 
worship. The good man argued, 'If they will worship an image, 
let them have a good one to worship.' He accordingly con- 
structed a nearly life-size image of the Virgin for their shrine. 
It can be seen in its costly camarin in the church at Pueblito, 
the popular name of the little hamlet of San Francisco, just 
west of Quer^taro." 

"This is a pretty place, and no mistake," said the Captain 
as they came upon the plaza. " Here are soriie rare plants, and 
what a fine fountain ! " 

" Yes, pretty it is, sure enough. The plants are not so very 
rare, however. These are the first of the kind you have seen on 
the plateau, but you will see plenty of them south of this point. 



You'll see some more in the beautiful gardens which we shall 
visit; especially at the Hercules mill there is a fine display." 

"Mill ! what kind of a mill?" asked the Captain. " We have 
not seen any, at least not many manufactories in the country so 
fiir ; a few flour mills and a few cotton factories are all I can 
recall, except the various ore reduction works." 

'•' Quite true, Mexico lacks manufactories. She is supplying 
' a long-felt want ' as rapidly as she can, but there are some 
very fine establishments now, and this Hercules mill is one 
of the finest in any land. It is well worth a visit. Beauty 



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seems to be a partner, though a silent partner, of business there. 
Statuary, fountains, parks, flowers, and fruits combine to instruct, 
refresh, and delight operatives and visitors alike at the Hercules. 
Palms and banana plants make the gardens look like a section of 
some tropical park. But the high walls, with loopholes for 
muskets, seem to indicate that once, if not now, this peaceful 
scene of beauty was not free from alarm, and prepared for war." 

"What are those beautiful arches?" asked the Corporal. 

"They are a part of the great stone aqueduct by which the 



city is supplied with water from the mountains. The water is 
brought about fi\e miles across the plain. There are nearly 
eighty of those arches, and some of them are over ninety feet 
high. The aqueduct is a great piece of work. It is not so long 
as that of San Cosme at the capital, which has nine hundred 
arches, but its height makes it very impressive. The city owes 
this luxury chiefly to the generosity of the Marques de la Villa 
del Villar de la Aguila (pretty name), whose statue you see in 
the main plaza. This is one of the prettiest plazas, by the way, 
in this land of parks and gardens." 




"Well, he did a great thing for the people and deserves a 
statue," said the Captain. " A much better use of his money 
this than church and convent building, don't you think so?" 

" Well, I think these people must think so, if they think at all. 
You'll be surprised, as you go farther, at the amount of labor 
expended by the people in ' packing ' water. The Aguador you 
have seen already in abundance, but you'll see more of him later 
on. Yes, the Marques is greater than Coricz. The sun does its 
part, but the Marques has enabled Querctaro to revel in the 



luxury which only a good water supply can render possible. The 
former statue was shattered by a cannon-ball during the siege, 
but this finer one rightly takes its place." 

"Siege! what siege?" asked the Captain; "has there ever 
been war here? " 

" Certainly, have you forgotten so soon the story of Santiago 
and the Cross? The Mexican Horatii?" 

"Oh, that was a tradition, you said." 

" Perhaps, but it was about war, though it was only a fisti- 
cuiif and hoof business, a kind of football scrimmage, with no 
touch-tlown for the team from Quer^taro. This place witnessed 
the downfall of an empire. Over on that ' Hill of the bells ' 
(Cerro de las campanas), east of the city, the Emperor Maxi- 
milian was executed, with two of his generals, Miramon and 
Mejia. You can see the crosses which mark the spot where 
they met death." 

"Tell us about it, please," said the Captain. 

"First a few words about the siege of 1810. Hidalgo and his 
associates, who were getting ready to strike for the freedom of 
Mexico from Spanish rule, had many friends here in this city 
which has always been known as one of the most conservative 
towns in the country ; a church town, if you please. When 
the cause of Hidalgo failed for the time, this place had to suffer 
for its disloyalty to the king and its loyalty to the patriots. 

"The latest siege occurred in 1867. Maximilian and his 
forces were shut up here, and Gen. Escobedo with the Liberal 
army besieged the city. On the 19th of May, the Emperor was 
captured, and the crosses on yonder hill tell you the result." 

" But I want to know about the war, the why and the where- 
fore," said the Corporal. " Please tell us about that." 

"It is a long story," said the Captain. "You must read it." 

" Oh, I think I can make a short story of it," said the Major; 
"however, it is well, right here where it ended, to recall the main 
facts about the Empire of Maximilian. 



10; 



"In iS6i, the Mexican Congress decreed a suspension of 
payment on foreign debts. The principal creditors were Eng- 
land, France, and Spain. These three nations united in a 
hostile demonstration for the purpose of enforcing a repeal of 
the decree. Mexican agents of the party which opposed Juarez 
and the Liberals urged intervention, and the foreign forces were 
sent to Vera Cruz in January, 1862. Commissioners came along 
with the troops, and an agreement was made with Juarez that 
when satisfaction was obtainetl the forces should be withdrawn. 
A treaty was soon made and approved by all parties. The English 
and Spanish troops returned home. But France withdrew 
approval of the treaty, kept her forces in Mexico, and sent 
others to re-enforce them. In May, 1S62, the French forces 
marched on the capital. At Puebla they were held in check 
by Gen. Zaragoza, and by this repulse President Juarez was 
enabled to stay in the capital a year longer, in which time his 
cause was greatly strengthened. But Puebla fell in May, 1863, 
and Juarez and his cabinet were compelled to leave the city of 
Mexico. In June, 1S63, the French took possession of it. 
Juarez had his capital wherever night overtook him ; he 
tramped all over the country with the government. Vera Cruz, 
Guadalajara, San Luis Potosi, Paso del Norte, and other places 
were at various times ' the capital ' in Juarez's time. On the i6th 
of July, 1863, a convention of the leaders of the Conservative 
or Church party declared that Mexico should be governed by a 
hereditary monarch, and that the ruler should be a Catholic. 
They offered the crown to Archduke Maximilian, brother of the 
Emperor of Austria. Maximilian accepted the crown. He 
required two things as conditions : first, an election by the 
people of Mexico; second, that Napoleon III. should support 
him by military force so long as such force was necessary. In 
June, 1864, Maximilian and Carlotta his wife (a daughter of the 
king of Belgium) were crowned Emperor and Empress of 
Mexico. Their reign was short. The Emperor soon found that 



104 










^:-i?'''*"^''^is^^'^L.^vi -^ 




r-^' 






f-' ''"^-W/^i^" 










OLD SPRING, NEAR QUERETARO. 



his policy of reconciliation pleased neither party. Bad ad- 
visers made trouble, and worst of all for him the United States 
notified Emperor Napoleon III. that there was no occasion and no 
room on the continent of North America for a monarchy. This 
was practically a notice to (}uit, and Napoleon so understood it. 
He withdrew the French troops, and Maximilian was left to his fate. 
He made a feeble defence, but was captured here, as I have said. 
Efforts were made to save his life, but it seemed to be a political 
necessity that he should be executed. Accordingly he was shot 
June 19, 1867." 

" A sad end of the three-year visit to Mexico," said the 
Captain, 

" Yes, very sad. Poor Carlotta lost her reason; her husband 
lost his crown and his life. A knowledge of this sad story will 
make the visit to that dreary hill one of interest., 

"In the town are various mementoes of the Emperor. You can 
see the table on which the officials signed the death sentence ; 
the stools on which Miramon and Mejia sat at the trial in the 
Yturbide Theatre : there would have 
been a third had the Emperor been 
present, but he was ill and did 
not attend, except by repre- 
sentative. The rough coffin in 
which Maximilian's body was 
brought from the place of exe- 
cution can also be seen here. The 
room in the Convent of the Capu- 

cines in which the Emperor was confined can be visited, though 
now it is a part of a private house. A sight of these mournful 
relics will add a new interest to those of the Emperor seen in 
the museum at the capital, which remind you of his palmy days, 
if he had any, in Mexico. There you will see the gold and 
silver service of his palace, his state carriage, and other insignia 
of royalty. As you drive on the paseo you will think of Carlotta 




105 



and her husband, who planned and executed the construction 
of that famous thoroughfare, but when you look from the heights 
of Chapultepec towards this lonely plain of Quer(^taro, you \vill 
think of the beginning and of the end of Maximilian in Mexico. 
6VV transit gloria nii/m/i." 

" Indeed, it is an interesting story," said the boys. 

" Yes, but I have only outlined it ; you must read it up when 
you get home. It is a valuable episode in the history, not only 
of a country, but of a continent. It teaches the rulers of Europe 
and of the Old World that this side of the globe is reserved for 
republics, and that no autocrats or monarchs need apply." 

"I wonder what Napoleon III. thought when he heard the 
news from Washington," said the Captain. 

" I think he was nearly as much surprised as when he heard 
the news from Met/.. You know the old joke : 'He went out to 
see Dan, and saw William.' He came here to see Mexico, and 
saw Sewaid. The United States may have done wrong to 
Mexico in 1847, but in 1867 Mexico had great cause for 
gratitude to Uncle Sam, and had proof that he is a friendly 
neighbor." 

" Well, that's enough of history, Major ; all interesting of 
course, but I want to look into this opal business a little," said 
the Captain. 

"Of course this is the opal station just as IrajMiato is the straw- 
berry station, and Celaya is the candy station. Somebody has 
said that in (^ueretaro 'it is always about A. D. 1640, and four 
o'clock in the afternoon.' Perhaps that is so, but it is a lively 
town in the matter of opals. In the early tlawn and in the 
dusky evening, by the noonday glare and by the flickering torch 
at night, the o])al seller welcomes the coming guest to Queretaro. 
liut the bi-st time to ])urchase is the mornent of departure of the 
train, ^\'hen the coniluctor says, '\'amonos,' then doth the oj)al 
man know that it is 'now or never' with the passenger who has 
hesitated and will soon be lost." 



106 



"Some of the stones are very beautiful, are they not?" said 
the Captain, "and very cheap?" 

"Yes, they are both, but when a man is buying jewels he 
wants plenty of time to examine them. In this case he will sel- 
dom find a jewel at the station. It is doubtless a fact that once 
in a while there is a fine stone offered for sale very cheap. It 
may have been stolen, but probably what is said to be nwy 
botiita is not so bonita, and may prove very defective." 

"Well, I saw some as we came along," said the Captain, 
" that looked fine and were certainly cheap, even if they were a 
little defective." 

"No doubt," answered the Major; "I have often been sur- 
prised at the small price asked for such good-looking stones. 
They were cheap, any way you could fix it. If they were only 
pieces of brick polished, or a common pebble doctored to refract 
light, they would be cheap at the money ; the work on them 
must be worth more than is asked for them. I once saw a 
hundred opals sold for five dollars, but I also once saw a single 
opal sold for five hundred dollars. So you see there are opals 
and opals, as well as buyers and buyers." 

" If I can find a good bargain I am going to take it," said the 
Captain. 

"You'll find it, my boy; it is here and you needn't look for it, 
it will come to you. There it comes now," said the Major, as 
he saw a seller siding up to the party, and preparing to open his 
little black-paper parcel. And sure enough the Captain and his 
money were soon parted ; the Mexican felt in another pocket 
for another bargain for the Corporal, a better bargain he said 
than had just been taken ! The little Corporal evidently thought 
it good enough for him, and some more money was exchanged 
for opals right then and there. 

The Major, an old bird, was evidently not approachable. The 
vender scarcely ventured to try hnn as a purchaser. It was 
clear to the Mexican that that man " had been there before." 



107 



The Major heard the story of the seller to the boys, and after- 
ward told them that the transaction recalled Aldrich's experience 
at the fair at Nijnii-Novgorod, where the seller tells a wonderful 
storv of a jewel which he was offering for three hundred rubles. 
He said a Jew had bought it ; 

" Hut bought it cheap to sull it dear, 
The ways of trade are cruel. 

" But I — be Allah's all the praise ! — 
Such avarice I scoff it ! 
If I buy cheap, why, I sell cheap. 
Content with modest profit. 

" This ring, such chasing, look milord, 
What workmanship ! by Heaven, 
The price I name you makes the thing 
As if the thing were given ! 

" A stone without a flaw, a queen 
Might not disdain to wear it, 
Three hiindrcd x\xh\ts buys the stone. 
No kopeck less, I swear it. 

"Thus Hassan, holding up the ring 
To me no eager buyer, 
A hundred ruijles was not much 
To pay so sweet a liar." 




1 08 



/\ 



Leaving Quer(5taro, we begin to rise from the IJajio, but still 
run for thirty miles or more through the same rich agricultural 
country to San Juan del Rio, a thriving city of about 20,000 
inhabitants. It is an important point with respect to business,, 
being the distributing centre of a productive district, but it does 
not offer much to the tourist. Just below this station we pass 
into the state of Hidalgo and ascend the great plain of Cazadero, 
thus named from the fact that here took place the great hunt 
with which the natives honored the first Spanish viceroy, 
jMendoza, in 1540, showing their good-will and welcome 
to the new 

more than eleven hundred feet 

above San Juan del Rio. 

The scenery about here 

is very fine, including 




ruler in this characteristic way. 
At the station Cazadero we are 




I,A CANADA, NKAR IIEKCL'I.ES. 



valley, plain, and mountain. Frequent haciendas dot the wide 
landscape, and show that farms now occupy the territory of the 
great hunt of three hundred and fifty years ago. 

And now the climb begins . in good earnest. In the next 
twenty-five miles we rise 800 feet, and at Leiia we reach the 
highest point on the whole line, an altitude of 8,133 feet. The 
scenery now becomes bolder and more impressive, and for the 



109 



iKxt luxnty-five miles we enjoy some of the finest views on the 
route. Our descent begins at once, and in less than an hour and 
a half we are at Tula, nearly 1,500 feet below Lena, but also 700 
feet lower than the city of Mexico, fifty miles away. The ride 
down the mountain is a succession of surprises. The greater 
quantity of semi tropical vegetation that appears here makes a 




VIEW l-KDM Till': SfMMlT. 



most agreeable change from the comparatively barren region 
above, and awakens great expectations as to the renowned 
country below and beyond. We know that here we are on the 
hills over which the mysterious Toltecs came into the valley of 
Tula from the north in the year 64S ! We have come over the 



110 



Santa F6 trail in the States, and now we are on the trail of th«> 
Toltecs in Mexico, close to their camp and capital. 

Talk about old Mexico ! When you get to Tula, you havt 
reached a place which was an important town more than a 
thousand years ago ; that is, seven or eight hundred years before 
the time of Cortes. 

Tula was the capital of Mexico until A. D. 1325. The Toltecs 
founded it, and the Chichimec tribe conquered it four hundred 
years afterward, or about A. D. 1200. The casas granges, im- 
mense columns and images found in ruins buried and unburied 
at various places in and near the present Tula, indicate its former 
greatness and importance. For an extensive account of explo- 
rations here one must read Charnay ; but one can, in a day's 
excursion from the city of Mexico, visit the sites of some of the 
ancient temples and palaces. He can see some broken columns 
in the plaza ; an old Toltec baptismal font in the fort-like 
looking church of San Jos6 ; and a bridge, across the Tula River, 
which is one of the oldest structures of the kind on the continent. 
The old church, in the great square, is unique. It was built in 
1553, and evidently served two purposes, one of worship, the 
other of protection from hostile tribes. The walls are seven feet 
thick. The building is about two hundred feet in length, forty- 
one in width, and eighty-two in height, with a tower one 
hundred and twenty-five feet high. The cloister is now a stable 
for the horses of the rural guard, and the pictures on the walls, 
which were once the delight of devout worshippers, still present 
to the view of the soldiers (and visitors) the worthy deeds of 
the good San Francisco. The atrium before the church is sur- 
rounded by a high turreted wall, which gives the whole establish- 
ment the appearance of a strong fortification. 

Tula is a quaint place. Most of it is of the average, not to 
say ancient, Mexican kind, but modern notions have made a 
show also. There is a very pretty little hotel called The 
Montezuma, which offers hospitality to the visitor for a small 



consideration. Modern lime-kilns, un the northern suburb of 
the village, make business as well as lime. A visit to the plaza 
and market place is interesting, and a walk through the paseo, 
under great green arches, to the river and the old bridge, on the 
way to the great ruins, can never be forgotten. The scenery 
all about Tula is fine. No one who is interested in the Mexico 
that is "older than Egypt" can afford to slight Tula, and the 
lover of beautiful scenery will find satisfaction in a visit. 

Crossing the little market place near the plaza, the party 
turned into the highway to Mexico which leads out of the village 




'& 




by a wide causeway shaded by immense trees, and came to the 
old bridge over Tula River. 

"This is the finest bit of scenery we have looked at," said the 
Captain. " It is just perfect, so much foliage, such green fields, 
and then the vines, and the flowers, and the river !" 

" Vou can find no prettier landscape than this anywhere," said 
the Major. "On the Lernia there are bits like it, but none 
prettier. I don't wonder that the Toltecs settled here, or that 
their successors and heirs made their capital here." 

"And this river?" asked the Corporal, "does it run into the 
Pacific?" 



112 



" No, it empties into the Gulf of Mexico through the river 
Panuco, which enters the gulf at Tampico. Speaking of water 
reminds me of drink," continued the Major; " and thinking 
of drink in Mexico reminds me of ////<///<?." 

" Oh, pulque ! yes we must know about that, I've heard of it," 
said the Corporal. "That is the national tipple, isn't it ? " 

" No, not that, they don't tipple it, they pour it down," an- 
swered the Major. " What beer is to the German, pulque is to 
the Mexican. This is a good 
place to talk about it, for right 
here in Tula pulque was dis- 
covered or invented. Here it 
became a beverage of royalty, 
and at the same time it became 
a torpedo, which blew up the 
kingdom of which Tula was the 
capital." 

" Why, how romantic ! Tell 
us about it." 

" Well, first I'll tell you what 
it is, and then the story of the 
fall of the Toltec Empire. 

"There is a wonderful plant 
here in Mexico called the mag- 
uey. We call it in general 'the 
century plant.' It is said that 
there are thirty-three varieties 
of the plant on these high plateaus, of which it is a native. It 
flourishes best at an elevation of about seven thousand feet. 
You'll see miles of maguey fields east of us here, and east of the 
capital as you go to Vera Cruz or Puebla." 

"Is it really a century plant? " asked the Captain. 

" No, it is not. The average life of the maguey is, perhaps, 
twelve years. In its enormous leaves, often eight or ten feet 




113 



long, a foot wide, and half a foot thick, it stores its juices for 
ten or twelve years, and finally produces its flower and dies. 
This flowering is prevented by cutting out the heart and stem 
of the plant. The reservoir thus formed at the base of the great 
leaves now receives their sap, and this sap is gathered by the In- 
dians. It is sweet, and hence is called ag»a mid (honey-water). 
.After a process of fermentation for twenty-four hours it is pulque, 
and twenty- four hours after that it is swi/l." 

" How much of this sap will a plant yield?" 

An astonishing quantity. From a hundred to a hundred and 
fifty gallons ! " 

" Gallons ! you mean quarts, Major." 

"No, gallons ! The maguey is no little maple-tree. A good 
plant yields twelve pints a day for two or three months : you 
can figure that up. Pulque making (and drinking) is an enor- 
mous business ; the city of Mexico alone consumes one hundred 
thousand pints every day in the year. In this little state of Hi- 
dalgo the maguey haciendas are valued at $8,000,000." 

" Well, Major, while you are talking about drinks, tell us about 
those others, wesca/ and tequila,''' said the Captain. 

" Pulque is the fermented juice of the largest maguey. Mes- 
cal is a very fiery and intoxicating liquor obtained by distillation 
from the root and central part of another and smaller variety of 
the plant. Tequila is simply a brand of mescal. A famous 
hacienda named Tequila produces the best, and all mescal is 
called tequila, just as all cigars are called Havanas. Now, about 
the discovery of pulque, and the dire disaster which followed ; 
it is something like Charles Lamb's story of the discovery of 
roast pig. Prepare for tough names. 

" There was once a Toltec chief named Tepaulcatzin. He 
lived and died in ten hundred and something. At the court of 
this chief, here in Tula, was a nobleman named Papantzin. He 
was the fother of pulque as well as of a very beautiful daughter 
named Xochitl, called the ' Flower of 'iula.' To the monarch 

I 1 } 



he sent a sample of the new beverage with his compliments, by 
the hand of his daughter. The chief was delighted with the 
drink and with the daughter, to say nothing of the compliments. 
He asked the maiden to make her home at the palace, and she 
returned not to papa Papantzin, who mourned for a while, but 
afterwards became reconciled, and likewise became the grand- 
father of a prince, who in time took the throne of the Toltecs. 
Mrs. Tepaulcatzin didn't like to see the son of the Flower of 
Tula take the throne away from her own boy, and there was a 
family row, which resulted at last in the downfall of the Toltec 
tribe." 

"And here is where pulque and the row began? " 

" Right here ; perhaps 
the pretty girl passed over 
this very path on her way 
to the palace with her gift. 
You'll see a beautiful pic- 
ture of the great event of 
the presentation in the art 
gallery at the capital." 

"Where is that train 
from, the one now cross- 
ing the bridge?" 

"That is from Pachuca, a great mining town in this state, 
forty-three miles east of Tula. This is the junction point, and 
we may stop here again on our way to that city. We are only 
fifty miles now from the capital, but we must on the way 
down, or up rather, talk about and look at a great piece of 
work which has no parallel in the history of civilization, — the 
cut or canal of Nochistongo. This is an open cut more than 
twelve miles in length, with an average depth of one hundred 
and eighty feet, and an average width of four hundred feet. 
The work is said to have cost many thousand lives and eighteen 
million dollars ; but it is a failure, so far as its main purpose is 




concemsd. It was intended to save the city of Mexico from 
inundation. The capital occupies ground only six feet higher 
than the lowest part of the valley. Lake Texcoco, in its nor- 
mal condition, is lower than the city, but any flood that raises 
the water in Texcoco more than six feet endangers the city. 
There are five other lakes in the valley, the highest of which 
is Lake Zumpango, situated east of this cut. The river Cuatit- 
lan empties into Zumpango. Plngineers believed that if the 
course of this river were turned from the lake into the Tula, 
the city would be safe, and this canal was made as a pas- 
sageway for the waters of the Cuatitlan. The river does not 
now threaten the city, but the heavy rains in this region often 
alarm the people by raising Texcoco nearly to the danger line, 
and it has been proved that safety requires better provision 
for drainage." 

" Have floods ever occurred in the city?" asked the Corporal. 

" Several times. Once the city was a veritable Venice for 
five years ! all communication was by boats. That time was 
long ago, between the years 1629 and 1634. Many houses 
collapsed, and thousands of people were drowned. The king of 
Spain sent orders to remove the city to higher ground at 
Tacubaya, but the orders were not carried out. The govern- 
ment at various times, during the last two hundred years, has 
attempted to provide drainage for the valley and for the city, 
but hitherto without success. A work is now in progress, how- 
ever, which, when completed, will render further trouble from 
water in the city very nearly impossible. A canal thirty miles 
long, twenty-six feet wide, and twenty feet below the main 
square, is to extend to Lake Zumpango, from which the waters, 
by a tunnel seven miles long, will be carried out of the valley 
into the ravine of Tequizquiac. This great work will be com- 
pleted in 1894." 

The Mexican Central Railway track runs through the cut of 
Nochistongo about fifty feet above the stream, and a good view 

116 



of the canon miy be obtained from the right-hand side of the 
south-bound train. A pleasant excursion to this vicinity can be 
made by going out on the morning, and returning on the even- 
ing train. The excursionist, however, should not forget to 
take along a lunch, as the Hotel de Nochistongo is a veritable 
"Hotel de No Hay." 




117 



VII. 



"A thousand years scarce serve to form a state: 
An hour may lay it in the dust." 

ChilJe Ilarohrs Pilgrimage. 

"The use of traveHin}^ is to regulate the imagination by reality, and in- 
stead of thinking how things may Ik-, to see them as they are." 

Dr. yohnsott. 

BEFORE we reach the city, where our attention will 
be absorbed by the scenes immediately about us, it 
will be well to get a good idea of the Valley of 
V Mexico. The common conception of a valley is 
r not the correct one for this region. The Valley of 
Mexico is a basin about seventy miles 
in length and forty- five 
miles in width, meas- 
ured through the ex- 
tremities. It extends 
from Pachuca on the 
northeast to the mountains 
south of I^ke Chalco, and 
the Sierra Nevada range on 
the east to the Sierra de las Cruces range on the west. This 
valley has an area of seventeen hundred and fifty square miles, 
about a fourth greater than the State of Rhode Island. It is 
divided nearly in halves by a low range of mountains. In the 
northern half are three small lakes and scores of small villages, 
but no large towns except Pachuca. In the southern half are 
three large lakes, many large villages, and the city of Mexico. 




ii8 



The lowest portion of the basin is Lake Texcoco, which is only 
six feet below the level of the city. The bottom of the valley 
has an elevation of 7,400 feet, while the highest point on the 
sides is about 17,777 feet above the sea. We enter the northern 
half of the valley through the cut of Nochistongo, and the 
southern half through an opening on the western side of Sierra 
Guadalupe. The view from Chapultepec, or from the Cathedral 
towers, or from any eminence south of the city, commonly 
spoken of as "a view of the Valley of Mexico," includes in fact 
only a part of this southern half, or an area of perhaps one hun- 
dred square miles. At our feet is the city, a little beyond are 
the lakes, a little farther off many cei-ros or 
hills from two hundred to seven hundred feet 
high, beyond these are higher broken moun- 
tains, and around the whole enclosure, contain- 
ing city, lakes, towns, hundreds of hamlets, and 
scores of these lesser mountains, rise the far-away 
ranges, the two highest points of which are covered 
with perpetual snow. This is the view of which 
Humboldt says: "There can be no richer, 
no more varied spectacle than that which 
the Valley of Mexico presents on a beautiful 
morning, when the heavens are clear and of 
that turquoise blue which is so peculiar to 
the dry and thin atmosphere of high moun- 
tains." But it is well to know and to remember that the Valley 
of Mexico is a vastly larger region than can be seen from any 
point either within or without it. 

In this valley we are in the earliest home of man on this con- 
tinent. To say nothing of traditions about the Ulmeca, we have 
accounts of the settlement here of the Chichimecs in A. D. 635. 
A hundred years after that the Toltecs came, and these were 
succeeded by the Aztecs in A. D. 890. Their name for the re- 
gion was Anahuac, meaning " the place of water." 

119 




This is the proper place to array some facts concerning the in- 
habitants of the country in general, and concerning the people of 
the Valley of Mexico in particular. Mexico has a population of 
nearly 12,000,000. Of this number about 19 per cent is Euro- 
pean, fully 38 per cent is In<lian and 43 per cent a mixed race, a 
composite of Indian and white (Mestizos), of Indian and black 
(Zambos), and of black and white (Mulatos) ; these last found 
mostly on the coast. There are no slaves in Mexico : slavery 
was abolished in 1829. It is estimated that there are fully 
2,000,000 Aztecs and about 1,500,000 of the Otomites and 
Zapotecs now living ^^^m^mm^m^^^^^m ^^ the Republic. 
The famous Presi- ^^HSSj^^AlS^^^H d^i^t Benito Juarez 
was a full-blood Za- ^^^^^^BBmRS^^I potec, and one of 
the ancestors of ^^^Lrv^KSfll^^H President Diaz is of 




MEKLIIANI 



the same tribe. The Aztec language is still spoken, as is also 
the Zapotec ; and while the Spanish is the prevailing language, 
there are 4,000,000 Mexicans (one third of the population) who 
neither use nor understand it. Of the 10,000 foreigners settled 
in Mexico, 5,000 are Spaniards, and the other half is composed 
of Frenchmen, Englishmen, (iermans, .Americans, and Italians. 
Only 2,044 foreigners have been naturalized. There are about 



i,ooo Chinese in the country. Everybody who can afford to 
buy, borrow, or steal one, "packs" a pistol, but the ratio of 
criminals is not large. Seventy-five per cent of the criminals 
arrested cannot read. The chief occupations of the natives are 
farming, mining, stock raising, fishing, and small trade. For- 
eigners do most of the banking and railroading of Mexico. 
Having spoken of the people of the country in general, we may 
answer the question : What about the people of this most 
favored portion of the Republic? At the capital city, containing 
a population of 330,000, are the best schools in 
the Republic, and one may suppose that the , , 
people of the Federal District, composing '^' ■ 
(with the city) a population of about half 
a million, would be much higher in edu- 
cation than those of any other section. 

The following figures, taken from a 
late census, tell their own story, and 
the reader can from them draw his 
own conclusions. The exact population 
of the Federal District in 1889 was 
451,246 (214,544 men and 236,702 
women). Of this population, 437,860 
were Catholics. Only 162,000 are able 
to read and write : of these 7,000 are 
foreigners; 145,000 are recorded as 
having no occupation; 91,000 are reg- 
istered as scholars and students ; 74,000 as servants and la- 
borers ; 67,800 as artisans; 22,000 merchants and clerks; 
8,500 soldiers and sailors; and 7,500 as government employes. 
It will be seen by these figures that there is a great work for 
the schoolmaster to do. More schools and more wage-giving 
work are the two things most needed now in Mexico. 

As we approach the city, Aztec names appear on the stations. 
Huehuetoca, Teoloyucan, Tlalnepantla, how strange they seem ! 




BROOM SELLER, 



From Huehuetoca on the left we see for the first time the glistening 
peaks of the volcanoes. The garden spot of the valley is south 
and west of the city, but we see about us here every sign of 
fertility, and evidence of thrift ; every inch of ground is utilized 
for grain or garden or grazing. Evidently we are near a market, 
for the roads are alive with natives carrying their packs of 
vegetables, fruits, fowls, wood, hay, and flowers, somewhere 
beyond ; they are "going to market." Soon we see hundreds of 
domes and towers ; we cross a few straggling streets and enter 




the capital at its northwest corner. " The stranger within the 
gates" is not within massive walls, but he is within walls of water, 
for there is a moat around the city, and where the country roads 
cross this canal to enter the city are the i^arifas (gates) estab- 
lished for customs purposes. 

Let us look about us, and see the new before we go into the 
city to study the old. The fine three-story brick building, in 
which are the general offices of the Mexican Central Railway 



Company, contrasts curiously with the heavy-looking squat 
adobe structures in the vicinity. It is perha])s the only pitch- 
roof building in the city. On the lower floor is the treasury 
department, occupying the front rooms ; back of these are the 
offices of the passenger and freight departments. The rear of 
the building is occupied by the offices of the auditor's depart- 
ment, in which are employed from seventy to eighty clerks. On 
this floor also will be found the telegraph operators, and the 
division and local officials. 




On the second floor, the west side of the building is occupied 
by the general manager and his clerks. The offices of the assist- 
ant manager and his force occupy the east side of this floor. 
The third story is devoted to the use of the engineering de- 
partment. 

Just west of this office building is the passenger station where 
are the waiting and baggage rooms, ticket and express offices ; 
an iron railing keeps " the reception committee " away from 
arriving and departing trains ; the passenger coaches await their 



123 



occupants within an enclosure, having a floor of concrete, and an 
iron roof supported by piers or columns of stone. It has no 
walls, and therefore it is as light and airy as a tent without sides. 
North of these buildings lies the yard in which are cars of all 
degrees from freight to Pullman, the offices of the material 
department, the hospital, the shops, round-houses, and other 
buildings pertaining to the operating department, and the store- 
houses from which the requirements of a large part of the line 
are supplied. Around the property is a canal which serves the 
purpose of a fence or wall ; this canal is bordered by trees, and 
the railroad yard in the vicinity of the buildings has quite a park- 
like appearance. 

Near the gate at the passenger station we see a car which 
seems to be a fixture, and is entered by a flight of steps to its 
rear platform. This is the Railroad Men's Reading-Room. 
Here are papers, magazines, and other current literature. In 
the front end of the car is a library of perhaps a thousand vol- 
umes. Neither the reader of this statement nor the visitor to 
Mexico is prohibited by law from contributing to this library. 

It is not an easy thing to find in the city of Mexico a reading- 
room where can be found the latest and best American periodi- 
cals, although there are stores where some of them can be 
bjught. This reading-room is a valuable institution, and speaks 
well for the intelligence and enterprise of its founders and sup- 
porters. The company gives the use of a car, and in due time 
will provide a fine room for the association, but the reading- 
room and library are sustained by contributions of members 
and patrons. 

In a large yard, shut off from the street by a high wall, are 
waiting, at train times, scores of carriages for the conveyance of 
passengers to points in the city ; from the east side of this 
enclosure we pass through a gate into the street near Buena 
Vista I'lace, the first and the last street of Mexico for passengers 
by the Mexican Central Raihvay. 

124 



VIII. 

*' Lax in their gaiters and laxer in their gait." 

The Theatre. 

" Infinite riches in a little room." 

The yew of Malta. 

F\VIDENTLY we shall have space for only a 
small part of the very interesting matter 
that might be written about the city of 
Mexico. The history of the city is sub- 
j stantially the history of the country. 
For more than five and a half centuries 
it has been a capital where successively 
cacique, conqueror, viceroy, emperor, 
dictator, or president has made and 
executed the laws of the land. It has 
always been the commercial as well as 
the social and political centre of the 
country. 

On an island in Lake Texcoco, in 
the year 13 12, the Aztecs, after wan- 
dering more than seven hundred years, discovered the prophetic 
sign by which they were to know where to make their final 
home. Here they laid the foundations of the place which was 
called Tenochtitlan, in honor of their holy guide, and also 
Mexico, in honor of their war god Mexitli ; and Mexico is the 
name not only of the country, but of a state in the national 
union, of the valley, and of the Federal District. The relation 




125 



of the ancient to the modern city we will trace as we visit 
various points. 

" Well, I suppose we shall go at once to the plaza, as usual," 
said the Captain, as the party left the station. 

" Oh, no, not this time ! First we will go to the hotel. The 
expressman has our checks, and we can wend our way as we 
please." 

" What hotel do we go to, Major? " 

" The Iturbide is the place for us. The Jardin is liked better 
by some, but we can get along well enough in a palace, can't 
we?" 

" A palace ! " exclaimed the Captain. "We've slept in a con- 
vent, and now we are going to a palace ! Great country this ! " 

" You can go to another convent or hospital, if you prefer the 
Jardin. That hotel is part of the old San Francisco monastery. 
All its rooms open upon a garden, and at first sight one would 
prefer quarters there ; but the Iturbide is a much larger estab- 
lishment, and we'll try it there. If we care to do so, we can 
move to the Jardin afterwards." 

The boys were quite surprised to see the great number of 
carriages waiting in the yard, and quite as much surprised at the 
absence of noise among the drivers. 

" We need not take a carriage, as we know the way," said the 
Major ; " we will walk. But notice here the little flags on the 
coaches ; little tin flags on the left side of the driver." 

" Yes, I see one : it is blue. What does that mean? " 

"The flag indicates that the hack is unengaged, and the 
color indicates the class of carriage. Blue flags mean first- 
class, red flags second, and yellow flags third-class coaches. 
These hacks are under municipal control, and the tariff for ser- 
vice is fixed. In each coach is a tariff" card, so that he who 
rides may read and know just what he ought to pay." 

The first thing that calls for notice is the new statue of Colum- 
bus in the square of Buena Vista, a short distance from the 

126 



station. (It was unveiled on the 12th of October, 1892, by 
President Diaz.) It is a handsome memorial, but not as im- 
posing as the larger one erected on the Paseo de la Reforma. 
The wide street just south of this statue is the " Avenue of Illustri- 
ous Men," extending from San Cosme to the Cathedral. It was 
the western causeway from the old island city to the mainland. 
Over this road fled Cortes and his followers on the famous night 
called "the sad," la noclie triste. Into this ancient highway the 
party turned, near the spot where Captain Alvarado is said to 
have saved his life by a leap over the moat. They made their 
way through the crowd of street merchants near San Fernando 
to the Alameda, one of the most beautiful promenade parks in 
the world. Crossing the park diagonally they entered San 
Francisco Street, and soon arrived at the entrance to the Hotel 
Iturbide. This building is palatial only in its dimensions. It 
is the largest hotel in Mexico, and the only one that indulges in 
the luxury of an elevator. The old part of the house is four 
stories in height ; the new part has three stories. The main 
patio is rich in stone arches and columns and tinted walls, but it 
seems strange that this great court should be left so barren of 
plants and flowers, for it could be made, with but little expense, 
one of the most attractive patios in all Mexico. 

The best Mexican hotels have registers, but they also have 
blackboards on which the names of guests are duly written 
against the number of their rooms. Blackboards have their uses, 
but they seem a little superfluous in a hotel office. What need 
of two registers ? 

" That is strange," said the Corporal, " that notice on the 
elevator, ' This elevator runs from 10 a. m. to 10 p. M.' " 

"Yes," said the Major, "it does seem strange that it should 
begin or stop at so unseasonable an hour. The idea seems to be 
that no gentleman will be up before ten in the morning," 

"What about ten in the evening?" asked the Captain. 

"Well, I don't know exactly, but I have seen some who 



127 



showed signs of discouragement and even of disgust when, coming 
in with ' that tired feeling,' they found that they had to climb the 
stone stairs to the third story. Moral : get in before ten o'clock. 
There is a demand for a first-class hotel, and I have heard that 
there will be one very soon. If there were an establishment at- 
tractive in its appointments, doubtless many more visitors would 
make a lonir stay. Here are many interesting things and places 




HOTEL TTrRRIOE. 

to see, here is perpetual June weather, and here is lovely scenery 
on every hand. When peojjle learn the facts about Mexico, they 
will wish to stay longer than they do now. A fine hotel facing 
the Alameda could scarcely fail of success, it seems to me." 

"Well, Major, tell us about this house," said the Corporal. 

"It was always a private residence until 1855, when it was 
turned into a hotel." 



128 



" How does it happen to be called a palace ? " asked the 
Captain. 

" Because Gen. Iturbide, who lived in it, happened to be an 
Emperor, the first and the last native-born Emperor of Mexico. 
He lived here about a year (March, 1822, to March, 1823), and 
was living here when he was proclaimed Emperor." 

" Tell us, please, how he happened to be made Emperor, and 
what became of him," said the Corporal. 

" He was born in the city of Morelia, entered the army when 
he was only fifteen, and before he was thirty years of age he had 
risen to the highest rank. He was a royalist, and fought fiercely 
against the patriots who were trying to secure independence 
from Spanish rule. Afterwards he changed his views, but his 
superior, the viceroy, did not know of this change, and made 
him Commander-in-Chief of the South, where the patriots were 
most active. Iturbide, after a few feeble battles with them 
there, agreed with Guerrero, their leader, to unite with him in 
obtaining independence for Mexico, and the army followed its 
leader. In January, 1821, he proclaimed the 'Plan of Iguala,' 
which was a sort of Declaration of Independence, of which 
these three things were the chief features : first, the Catholic 
Church shall be the exclusive form of religion ; second, Mexico 
shall be an independent monarchy, having some member of the 
royal house of Spain as ruler ; third, there shall be a friendly 
union of Spaniards and Mexicans. These three articles became 
known as * the three guarantees,' and the colors of the 
Mexican national flag, as adopted at that time, represented 
these three articles of political faith, — white for religion, green 
for union, red for independence. Iturbide now became an 
ardent loyalist, and in September, 182 1, after victorious battles 
at Quer^taro and Puebla, he entered the capital in triumph. 
Independence was gained, and Iturbide was hailed as the libera- 
tor. He had certainly put an end to the Spanish power which 
had tyrannized the land for three hundred years. 



129 



" Iturbide's plan was to have a regency govern the country 
until Spain should send out a prince to be ruler. But Spain de- 
layed consent to the treaty, and party spirit rose rapidly. One 
party, composed of the patriots and most of the resident Span- 
iards, said, ' Wait, wait till the prince comes ' ; the other party, 
consisting of the army, some of the Spaniards, and the church 
officials said, 'Iturbide the Liberator shall be Emperor.' The 
Congress, May 19, 1S22, went through the form of an election, 
sixty-seven members voting for and fifieen voting against Itur- 
bide, and on the 21st of July, 1822, he and bis wife were 
anointed and crowned in the Cathedral, Emperor and Empress 
of Mexico. He was, officially, Augustin I. He endeavored to 
strengthen his position, but Santa Anna led in a revolt which, 
in March, 1823, resulted in the banishment of Iturbide. In 
consideration of his service against Spain, the Congress voted to 
pay him $25,000 a year during life, but decreed, later on, that 
he should be treated as a traitor if he returned to Mexico. He 
came back, was arrested, and shot July 19, 1824." 

" This doesn't seem to be a healthy place for Emperors," said 
the Captain ; " both the native and the imported articles seem to 
live but a short time." 

" Look in here," said the Major to the boys as they were 
passing an open door on the third floor of the hotel. 

"Why, what is this? It looks like a chapel! how pretty, 
in white and gold, and what a beautiful dome ! " said the Cor- 
poral. 

" A chapel it is. I suppose the Emperor said his prayers here, 
and certainly his wife did. But the Marquesa de Valparaiso, who 
built the house, had the chapel arranged for herself. See the 
figure of Mexico's Virgin Saint Guadalupe over the door ! While 
we are looking round, we might as well go up another story and 
get the magnificent view from the roof." 

Passing through an iron gate beside the dome of the chapel, 
they stood on the roof of the hotel and surveyed the charming 

130 



landscape. It was the first view the boys had taken from an 
elevation. It was a revelation, a surprise most charming. Miles 
of streets, hundreds of domes and towers, were immediately 
about them. In one direction the Alameda, and beyond the 
avenue of trees along the Paseo, ending at the hill of Chapulte- 
pec, crowned by the castle. In the opposite direction was the 
Plaza Mayor, and beside it, rising over the square, the Cathedral 
towers. Beyond lay the lake of Texcoco, and fifty miles away, 
piercing the clouds, could be seen, without a thing to obstruct 
the view, the snow-covered volcanoes. 




AVENIUA JUAREZ. 

"Well, if there were nothing but this view to be seen in Mex- 
ico,''' said the Captain, "I should be glad I came." 

"Yes, this is splendid," said the Corporal. "See those rows of 
trees across the valley, three, four, five of them, miles of trees." 

"Yes, they make much of the charm of the valley. Excepting 
the east, go in whatever direction you will out of the city, you 
pass under arches of trees, poplars or cypresses, north to Guada- 
lupe, south to Tlalpam, west to Tacubaya. They not only make 



131 



the landscape beautiful, but also add much to the comfort of ex- 
cursions through the valley. Now get your bearings, boys. Fix 
a few points in minil, and everything will seem straight afterwards. 
" Vou see how the city lies ; it is nearly a stjuare, and the 
streets run nearly at right angles. One need have no difficulty in 
finding his way about, even if there are some irregularities in the 
streets, and if the same street may have a half-dozen sections, 
and each section a name of its own. There was once no end to 
the confusion caused by the naming of these sections, but now 
it is largely obviated by the new nomenclature of the streets antl 
avenues. The old names, however, will be retained for a long 
time by the ])eople ; but eventually this city will be as easy to 
understand as the heart of Philadelphia, which lies within 

* Market, Arch, Race, and V'ine, 
Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, ami I'ine.' " 

"What is this church nearest us?" asked the Corporal, pointing 
across the street west of the hotel. 

" That is what is left of the monastery of San Francisco. The 
whole establishment occupied, for more than three hundred years, 
what is now four large blocks of the city. It was the oldest, 
largest, and most important religious concern in the New World. 
The monastery was begun in 1524, and for two hundred and fifty 
years kept on growing, till nine dormitories with three hundred 
cells, eleven churches and chapels, a hospital, a refectory where 
five hundred monks could dine at once, a large garden, and a 
cemetery were within the enclosing walls of San Francisco. It 
comprised nearly as large an area as the Alameda. But the nine- 
teenth century has changed things. The walls are gone now ; 
that street was the old cemetery. It is named for Padre Gante, 
one of the thirteen holy brethren who walked from Vera Cruz to 
Mexico to convert the heathen Aztecs. The Hotel Jardin oc- 
cupies the hospital of the monastery, and enjoys the luxury 
of the garden from which it takes its name ; moreover the chapel 

132 



is used as the bar-room of the hotel, and the refectory of the 
monks is now a Uvery stable. Independence Street runs through 
the middle of the old grounds. One of the chnpels is now a 
Methodist church, and a Protestant Episcopal organization uses 
the old church of San Francisco as a place of worship. You see 
that if we had gone to the Hotel del Jardin, we should have 
been on historic ground, as we are here. Yes, historic ground 
indeed it is. This very spot is where the Aztec kings had their 
wild-beast gardens, and where the Franciscans built their first 
school and first church for the Indians out of stones taken 
from the Aztec temple. Cortes gave the money for this first 
church, attended mass here, and his bones lay here sixty- five 
years (till 1794). Here was commenced the confiscation of 
church property by President Comonfort on account of treason. 
Here Juarez continued the work, and now the ground, and even 
the building which was the scene of the first work of the faith- 
ful, is occupied by the heretic and the infidel ! How the good 
brothers would pray to go back to their tombs, if, like the Seven 
Sleepers of Ephesus, they should wake up and see how the world 
has degenerated since the good old days when the seven 
churches of San Francisco were in their glory ! 

" In the next street west, just beyond San Francisco, is the 
little church of Santa Brigida, one of the most fashionable in 
the city, though a most insignificant-looking building. Two 
more churches I will call attention to ; one near by on the 
northeast called the Profesa, just above the main entrance 
to the hotel. It is one of the most beautiful churches in Mexico, 
and like our little chapel here, it is decorated in white and gold. 
The famous architect Tolsa designed its great altars. We must 
go and see La Profesa. The other is over yonder a few blocks 
away on the southeast ; it is the church of San Augustin, now 
occupied by the National Library. Well, the churches are legion 
here. We will visit some of them ; your visit to the roof will 
be of value to you." 



^33 



^ 



^ 





As it was Sunday, the party 
resolved to make it a Sab- 
bath, a day of rest, and not 
to begin their excursions till 
the next day. But Sunday is 
the great day for observation 
in Mexico. It is everybody's 
" day out," and everybody is 
out. The usual order for the 
fashionable class is, mass in 
the morning, the Alameda for 
a promenade from eleven to 
(ine o'clock, and driving on 
the Pasco fruin four to seven in the evening. 
The order for the million is shopping in the 
morning, and wandering about the rest of the 
day. If one wishes to see the extremes of society in Mexico, 
he must go, while the four hundred 
are at church, into the southeast part 
of the city, anywhere between the 
Plaza and San Juan Market. The 
natives throng the streets, such mul- 
titudes of people, and such people ! 
rhey are mostly the poor, 
the very poor. This is 
their buying and selling 
time ; the sandals, the 
zarapc, the rebozo, 
the white and the 
colored cloths from 
which their gar- 
ments are made, house- 
hold utensils, and sweets and toys for the rhlMren, all 
- are largely bought on Sunday morning. Street mer- 



134 




\ their 1 
^j^^tir 




chants then do their greatest trade of the week. All this com- 
ing and going, dickering and bartering, you must see, or you do 
not see Mexico. Don't be afraid to mingle with the multitude. 
You never will find a more quiet and orderly crowd anywhere. 
It is a sight of a lifetime, in its way. Good-nature prevails, and 
politeness, at least as sincere if not as demonstrative as that of 




PULQUERIA. 

the Alameda, will be seen in the streets among these people, 
whose fortune seldom ever amounts to a peso. They seem to 
have a satisfactory philosophy of life, which is expressed about 
thus : — 

" Our portion is not large indeed, 
But then ! how little do we need ! 

For nature's calls are few. 
In this the art of living lies, 
To want no more than may suffice, 

And make that little do." 

Now to the Alameda. It covers twenty-two acres and has nines 
of walks, a deer park, bird garden, and children's play grounds. 
It is crowded too, but with what a different class of people ! The 
beautiful women and handsome men for which Mexico is noted 



135 



here parade an hour, for their own delectation and for the delight 
of foreigners. 

What Saxe said of people at Saratoga may, with a little change, 
be said of the procession in the Alameda : — 

" Some go to show off their daughters, 
And some to show off themselves." 

Take a chair on any of the dozen avenues which radiate from 
the great central glorieta (circle) ; sit an hour and watch the 
panorama. You need not go to the show, it will come to you ; it 
will puss and repass before you ; it is worth going to see, and it 
must be seen, or "the pride of Mexico" is missed. Was there 
ever anything so " fetching" as that hand salute, that waving of 
the fingers? or anything so touching as that embrace, that patting 
on the shoulder, and that double kiss (always on the cheek) of 
meeting friends? Did you e\er hear so little talking from so 
many people ? and yet everybody is talking, but how quietly and 
how musically they do it ! A half-dozen Americans or two Ger- 
mans will make more noise in conversation in the house or on the 
street or promenade in half an hour than a hundred of these 
people would make in a day. Fashions the latest, garments the 
richest, flowers the brightest, faces the prettiest, forms the finest, 
smiles the sweetest, are all in the picture moving before you. 
Where can you see such another? Nowhere but in the Alameda 
of Mexico, and there only on Sunday or on some political or 
ecclesiastical feast day. 

After reviewing the promenade the party strolled westward 
through the park, and turning to the left came into the Avenida 
Juarez, which leads to the Paseo. The Captain seemed to be 
thinking about what he had seen, for he suddenly asked, — 

" How do they make that hand and finger salute ? " 

"That's a cute thing," chimed in the Corporal ; " 1 must learn 
that trick ; that's good enough to take home." 

" It is a preUy flourish, something like our ' chase the geese.' 
It is called beso soplado, or blowing the kiss. The fingers of the 

136 



right hand are gathered closely together in a grouj), brought to 
the lips, and then thrown out like the oi)cning of a fan. The 
saluting party blows on the hand as the fingers fly apart, and 
thus conveys five kisses at once to the saluted one. I have 
beard some American ladies say, 'That's just too cunning for 
anything.' By the way, let us cross over to that corner, I 
see something there that will interest you, and something 
that I promised to tell you about. This pretty Moorish pavilion 




CITY TICKET OFFICE. 

is the structure in which Mexico made its fine exhibit at the 
World's Fair at New Orleans. The Lottery Company occupies 
it now." 

" Lottery tickets seem to be plenty here," remarked the Cap- 
tain. 

" I should think so," added the Corporal, " two or three kinds 
of them, and sellers as plenty as flowers." 

" Chances to make your fortune meet you at every corner. 
You can see the elegant headquarters of the great Lottery Com- 
pany opposite the Central's city ticket office." 



137 



The party reached the corner, but the Major made no remark 
as to what he wished to show the boys. At last the Corporal, 
puzzled not a little, inquired, " What is it, Major? I don't see any- 
thing about here but houses and people." 

" \\'cll, I see a bear," replied the Major, "or at least a young 
man ' playing the bear,' Don't be rude about it, but look up 
to the little balcony yonder and you'll see a smiling senorita. 
She is the Juliet, and here comes the Romeo of this little play. 
She is the queen and he the Raleigh, saying with his longing 
eyes, ' Fain would I climb.' " 

" I see her," whispered the Corporal. "She's pretty." 

" And I see him," said the Captain. " He's going away." 

" He's only moving on : he'll be back in a moment. The 
lady, too, has gone away, you'll observe. She'll be out again 
soon. We'll watch this play awhile. It is called ' playing the 
bear ' {haciendo del oso)^ 

" How does it get that name ? " asked the Corporal. 

" From the walking to and fro, like the caged or tied animal. 
An invisible but strong cord holds this young man. One end of 
the cord is around him, and the other is tied to the balcony. 
' So near and yet so far.' There she comes agam, and here 
again comes Romeo. Let's move on now ; we'll take another 
look on our way back. We shall be sure to find the play 
going on, for evidently the parties are well along in their love- 
making. A young lady in this country has no freedom outside 
of the family. A young man cannot call on her at any time 
except in the presence of others, and he is not permitted to 
call at all until he has obtained the consent of her family to pay 
his attentions to her. In our country attention is not always 
intention, but here it is a serious matter from the start. The 
method of the mania is this : the young man sees somewhere a 
young woman who attracts him. He finds out, if he doesn't 
know already, who slie is and where she lives. He promenades 
where she can see him from her little cage. She marks him and 

13S 



in licates her feeling towards him by her actions. If she rejects 
his attentions, she gives no response to his glances and demon- 
strations of blissful pain or pleasure ; she turns away and practi- 
cally says, ' Go away.' If, on the other hand, she wishes to 
encourage him, she looks at him tenderly and even gives him a 
smile. The young man understands the language of the eye 
and of the fan, and hears ' a song without words ' — happy 
youth ! Day after day, sometimes for years, he vi^alks to and 
fro in sight of his sweetheart. Sometimes he has only his labor 
for his pains, for there are flirts among the fair in Mexico. But 
generally, after a period of promenading, and smiling, and 
sighing, in which the young man has proved the sincerity of his 
profession, he is allowed to call. After that, if everything is 
satisfactory, in due time an engagement is announced, and if 
nothing breaks a wedding , ■ . 

follows, and of course, 'they 
live happy ever after.' " 

Facing the entrance to 
the Paseo stands the oldest 
and largest bronze in all 
Mexico. It is an eques- 
trian statue of Charles IV., 
and it has a very remarkable 
history. In the first place, 
it is a remarkable piece of 
work. Humboldt says that, 
next to the monument of 
Marcus Aurelius, in the city 
of Rome, this is the finest equestrian statue in the world. It 
is nearly sixteen feet high, weighs about thirty tons, and is cast 
in a single piece. It was the first, and some say it is the 
largest, bronze statue ever made in America. It is the work of 
the famous Tolsa. Formerly it stood in the Plaza Mayor, where 
it was erected in 1803. In 1824 it was taken down from the 




139 



Plaza, anil put out of sight in the court of the University, where 
it remained till 1852, when it was erected in its present position. 
On account of its various removals it was nicknamed "Caballito 
de Troya" (the litile Trojan horse). A Mexican, who may safely 
be supposed to know a perfect horse, says there is only one little 
defect about the statue. See if you can find out what that is 
when you look at this famous bronze. The beauty of the work 
and the name of Tolsa saved the statue from obscurity, if not 
from destruction, as an inscription on the pedestal declares. 
Love for Spain is not a great passion in Mexico ; Cortes has no 
monument in the country that he conquered, and Charles IV. 
would have none except for Tolsa. This is a monument to Tolsa 
rather than to the king. 

Near the king of Spain stand, in oxidized bronze, two 
Aztec princes, one on either side of the boulevard. It is said 
that horses used to shy at sight of them, and the princes them- 
selves seem to say, with the Prince of Morocco, — 

" Mislike me not for my complexion, 
The sharluwefl livery of the hurnished sun, 
To whom I am a neighbor, and near bred." 

We recognize their right to refuse, like Falstaff, to " give a 
reason on compulsion " for their being where they are, or for 
being at all. The name of the party on the right, as one looks 
toward the west, is Ahuitzotl ; the gentleman on the left glories 
in the name Axaydcatl. These princes were noted for something, 
probably, but I have found only one notable thing in any records 
of them that I have seen ; it is stated that H. R. H. Axaydcatl 
"killed himself by over-exertion in killing prisoners." His 
present exposure may atone for some of his cruelty. The 
pedestals of these statues are fine specimens of workmanship, 
and deserve to bear a better burden. 

There are four glorietas (circles) in the Paseo, each three 
hundred feet in diameter, and intended for heroic statues. Two 



140 



of these places are already occupied : the first by a monument 
to Columbus; the second by a memoriil and statue of Cuauhte- 
moctzin, or Montezuma III., the last Aztec prince. 

The Columbus monument (unveiled in 1877) is the work of 
Cordier, and was a gift to the city from Seiior Don Antonio 
Escandon. It is in three parts : first, the base of basalt, octag- 
onal in form ; second, the square pedestal of Russian jasper, 
bearing four basso-relievos, and four life-size figures ; third, the 
statue of the discoverer, 
with one hand drawing the 
veil from the Western 
World, and with the other 
pointing heavenward. In 
the design and detail this 
is a very handsome monu- 
ment. 

In the second glorieta 
there stands the memorial 
of Cuauhtemoctzin, hero of 
the last days of the Aztec 
Empire. Many regard it 
as the finest work in Mexico. It was designed by the eminent 
architect Jimenez, presenting primitive and modern features in 
pleasing combination. On a platform having four stairways, each 
guarded by leopards in bronze, stands a basaltic pedestal in three 
parts. The first of these bears two reliefs and two inscriptions. 
The reliefs represent, one, the captive prince before Cortes, 
the other, the torture of Cuauhtemoctzin and Tetlepanpuetzal 
(from whom Cortes expected to learn where the royal treasure 
was hidden). On the second part of the pedestal are the names 
of four heroes, and representations of Aztec arms and shields. 
The third section, beautifully ornamented with ancient symbols, 
is surmounted by a bronze statue of Cuauhtemoctzin, who was 
every inch a king, and who could and would have annihilated 




141 



Cortes had Montezuma allowed him to arouse the people against 
the invaders. The figure represents the chief advancing and 
about to cast the spear raised in his right hand ; on his feet 




are sandals, over his shoulders the royal robe, and on his head 
the feathered crown. This memorial is almost reverenced by 
the Indians, who, on every 21st of August (the anniversary 
of his torture), hold a festival in the glorieta. Cuauhtemoctzin's 
memory is honored by addresses in the Aztec language, and by 

peculiar demonstrations, in 
which flowers, processions, 
and dances play important 
parts. Thii statue is always 
beautiful, but it is most beau- 
tiful in the early morning. 

In the third glorieta will 
soon be erected a bronze 
statue of Hidalgo, twenty 
feet in height; and in the fourth a statue of Juarez, sixteen feet 
high. These works have already been cast in Rome. 




142 



On the south side of the Paseo, near the Columbus monument, 
are extentive bath-houses (Pane and Osorio). The Alberca 
Pane is the largest and finest in every respect. Here may be 
enjoyed shower, swim, Roman, Russian, and Turkish baths. This 
establishment runs its own street cars (the Circuito de Baiios), 
and conductors give a free ride to the bath-house to pur- 
chasers of bath tickets. 

As they were returning to the hotel the party took another 
look at the pretty play on and before the balcony. After lunch 
the " Fair God " was read aloud by the Captain for the benefit 
of all, and the "tzin," its hero, seemed to be a living hero. This 
reading and the writing of letters quickly brought the hour when 
the four hundred and the million of Mexico are out to be 
seen and to see on the Paseo. 

The Paseo between four and six o'clock on any day in the 
year, but particularly on Sunday, is another sight which is worth 
going a long way to see. The boulevard itself is one of the 
finest driveways in the world. Mexico owes a debt of gratitude 
to the unfortunate Carlotta, wife of Maximilian, for the reforma- 
tion of the Plaza and for the creation of the Paseo. Before her 
day the Plaza was simply a bare and barren square ; she trans- 
formed part of it into a lovely park and a charming garden, as 
we see it to-day. This boulevard, called the Paseo de la Re- 
forma, two miles in length, one hundred and seventy feet in 
width, with its glorietas and its magnificent trees, is the bequest 
of the Empire to the Republic. The royal avenue is the pleasure 
drive of the people. Here may be seen a larger number of fine 
horses and carriages and, in general, more display of wealth 
than in the park of any city in the world with twice the popula- 
tion of the city of Mexico. When it is remembered that but a 
small proportion of the population is either able or pretends to 
be able " to keep a carriage," this statement is the more worthy 
of note. It carries its own lesson, and comment is unnecessary. 
The Paseo is Vanity Fair on wheels, and many are there who 



143 



can ill afford to be there in the style they affect. But that is 
nothing to the looker-on in Mexico. We are here to see the 
show, and the Paseo, with its real and imitation aristocracy, 
gives us one of the greatest shows on earth. What if some 
appear to be taking only a penitential excursion, and others 
seem to say with Desdemona, — 

" I am nut merry, hut I do beguile 
The thing I am hy seeming otherwise ! " 

Nearly all the world appears both young and fair on the 
Alameda and on the Paseo. All Mexico seems to be looking 
on, and happy enough. This is a lotos land, and we know that 
the poet speaks the truth when he says : — 

" The dole e fur niente is a delightful game, 
If only one can spare the time who plays it. 
If one can be content to sit and watch year after year 
The world's great ships go sailing by and never want to steer. 
The dole e far nientc is a delightful game 
For people who have lives to spare to play it." 




144 



IX. 

" The good old rule 
Sufficeth them — the simple plan 
That they should take who have the power, 
And they should keep who can." 

Rob JRoy's Grave, 

"The world, which credits what is done, 
Is cold to all that might have been." 

In Memoriam. 

OW we are going to ' the very heart of Mexico,' the 
Plaza Mayor de la Constitucion," said the Major, as 
the party stepped into San Francisco Street. "This 
street is the principal thoroughfare of the city, and 
is at once a Fifth Avenue and a Broadway^ Mexico 
has no Beacon Street or 
Commonwealth Avenue. 
Many of the finest stores as 
well as some of the finest 
residences are on San Fran- 
cisco Street, which is now 
called Fourth Avenue." 
As they walked along, attention was called to the showy stores, 
the costly houses, cafes, and club houses, the Profesa and other 
churches. Reaching the end of the street they found them- 
selves in the great square which has been reserved wholly for 
public use since i6i i : they crossed to the Zocalo and took seats. 
The history connected with the Plaza is very interesting. 
Where the little garden is now there stood in 13 12 the rocky 




PLAZA MAYOR IN 1803. 



145 



island on which the long-looked-for sign was discovered by the 
Aztecs. Here they built their first temple, here was the enor- 
mous Teocalli, or place of celebration and of sacrifice. On this 
ground in 152 1 occurred the final struggle between Cortes and 
Cuauhtemoctzin (so vividly described in "A Fair God"), and 
here the new city was begun on the ruins of the old one, the 
temple making way for the cathedral. For three hundred 
years, on the 13th of August, the celebration of the conquest 




ANOTIIKR PARTS'. 



was celebrated here by processions in which the mayor bore 
the standard of Cortes, the viceroy, the council, and the nobility 
following it on horseback. More than sixty royal governors 
made official display here, and at least two Kmperors were here 
proclaimed, and in that church had coronation. Since 1821 the 
flags of two foreign nations have floated from yonder staff, and 
chief magistrates, almost without number, have crossed this 



146 



ground to assume their functions as rulers. Prisoners of church 
and state have passed here on their way to the fagot and the 
scaffold. 

The square was practically a market place till i6ii,whena 
royal order was given for removal of the booths ; trading was, 
however, continued here, and in 1692 a famine riot occurred in 
which three million dollars' worth of property was destroyed. 
For a century the Plaza was a dirty, desolate-looking place, but in 




1803 the viceroy prepared a place for the statue of Charles IV. 
by enclosing a large circular space by a stone wall and iron 
fence. That statue was removed in 1824, and later the founda- 
tion was laid for a memorial to Mexican independence. The 
band-stand of the Plaza is built upon that foundation (or zocaio), 
and the Plaza is called "The Zocaio." One hears people say, 
" We are going to the Zocaio " much oftener than " We are going 



147 



to the Plaza." There was no garden or park here till 1866, and 
the gardens about the Cathedral date only from 1880. Many 
booths are seen in and about the square, but i)robably they will 
all disai)pear in time, if the city ever reaches a point when it can 
get along without the revenue whic h the traders contribute. 
Visitors may well hope that that point is far distant, for with the 
removal of these peculiar places of trade will vanish one of the 
characteristic features of Mexican life. 

" This seems to be the centre of everything," said the Cor- 
poral. " Do all the street cars start from here ? " 

"Nearly all, and they go, as you see, in trains ; that is, two or 
three start together and run on the same time. The custom is, 
perhaps, a relic of barbarism or of the old days when protection 
was the chief thing to think, of and provide for. Instead of run- 
ning one car every five or ten minutes, they start a train of two 
or three every twenty or forty minutes ; this wholesale style 
makes a wholesale waste of time for passengers, but then time 
isn't money in this country. Class distinction accounts in part 
for the train system." 

" I notice that there are different colored cars," said the 
Corporal. 

" Yes, colors denote classes. The yellow are first-class and 
the green second-class coaches. You notice also a kind of 
double-decked passenger and freight car. The poorest are 
accommodated." 

" And yonder is a black one ! " exclaimed the Captain. "An 
open i)latform car with roof only and a cross above it." 

"That is a funeral car, Ca]jtain. \'ou will often see the 
same article in white. You'll see processions of cars on the 
way to and from the cemeteries. There is one coming now. 
See, the black car has a casket on it. The mourners are in 
the two following coaches. That is a first-class funeral, as 
you may know by those yellow cars. Many thousands of fu- 
nerals have started from this square. It looks now like a little 

148 



paradise with its trees, flowers, fountains, and cozy seats for 
weary walkers, but in days past blood has thoroughly drenched 
this ground." 

"You mean in Aztec times," said the Captain. 

"Yes, and as late as 1803. The gallows stood near where 
we are sitting, right in front of the viceroy's palace, and there 
was the frame on which the heads of criminals were exposed 
for a terror to evil-doers. Riots and revolutions almost without 
number have been witnessed here." 

The Plaza now comprises about nine acres, the part between 
the garden and the palace being used as a parade and review 
ground for troops. The Cathedral occupies the north side of 
the Plaza. 

"Is that the palace on the east?" asked the Corporal. 

" That is the National Palace, the Federal Capitol, the largest 
building in Mexico. It was begun in 1692, and has been en- 
larged, as you see, till it covers the whole immense block, an 
area of about eight acres." 

" It looks more like a barracks than anything else," said 
the Captain. " See the towers and the grated windows, and 
the soldiers keeping guard." 

"Yes, it does," replied the Major; "but it is government 
headquarters. There are a dozen patios within the walls of the 
buildings, and around these are arranged the offices of the 
Treasury, State, and other departments of the government. 
On that site was the palace of Montezuma, which was destroyed i 
then Cortes built his residence there, and that palace was 
used by the viceroys. From that block have gone out the 
decrees which have governed Mexico for more than fiv'e hun- 
dred years. Of course we must make a tour of the buildings 
on the block, for among them are the National Museum. But 
now look over to the west side of the square." 

" Nothing there but houses and stores," said the Corporal, 
"and not very nice ones either." 

149 



" Nothing gaudy to be sure, but they stand on ground once 
occupied by a palace. Montezuma lived there while Cort<is 
held him captive in 1519 ; and even now there is one of the 
great institutions of Mexico housed there. Some think it is the 
'most beneficent institution in the world,' the Monte de 
Piedad." 

"What is that?" asked the Captain. 
" It is the national itawn-shoj)." 

" I'awn-shop I what is there good about that?" asked the 
Corporal. 

" ' Hard times comes a-knockin' at de door ' of a good many 
ri( h people, though he spends most of the time hammering on the 

poor man's door. There are 
some good folk who will lend 
the people who are crowded for 
money, if sufficient security can 
be given or sufficient interest 
be paid. These lenders have 
been named ' uncle ' by the pa- 
trons of their shops, but I think 
the name doesn't imply any af- 
fection. Hamlet's uncle, who 
took his brother's life and wife, 
and robbed his nephew of a 
crown, was a royal type of the 
traditional pawn-broker. What 
kind of an uncle is it that will 
charge for a small loan on good security three per cent a month 
interest for the first six months, and two per cent a month after 
that ; interest thirty per cent a year ! isn't that robbery?" 

" I should say it is. 'Ihat is blood money," said the Captain. 

"This institution is intended, by lending at a low rate of 

interest, to prevent such e.xtortion. The Count of Regla, in 

1775, founded this pawn-shop and endowed it with a fund of 




150 



;^300,ooo, the income to pay running expenses. Loans were and 
are made up to a])out three fourths of the value of the article 
deposited. At first no charge at all was made, the founder 
believing that grateful patrons would sustain the charity by vol- 
untary gifts, but they did not, and the fund was seriously im- 
paired, but now a fixed rate is charged, and the great pawn-shop 
is doing an immense business. I saw the statement for one 
month in 1892. In that month ^16^8,000 was loaned on 27,000 
pawn tickets. Ab.out ^60,000 was paid on renewals. The total 
amount out on loans and secured by articles in the warehouses 
was $1,050,000. It lends about a million dollars a year to forty- 
five or fifty thousand patrons." 

"There are plenty of other pawn- 
shops, I suppose?" said the Captain. 
" Every city has plenty of them." 

"Yes, there are seventy of them 
in this city, and the census shows 
that nearly $5,000,000 was lent last 
year. We will look into some of 
these private ones, and will see some 
fine jewels in the great Monte de 
Piedad." 

" I can see now how even a pawn- 
shop can be made a good thing for 
the unfortunate, if managed as this 
one is," said the Captain. 

The remaining part of the west 
side of the Plaza is occupied by a long arcade, over which are 
residences. This arcade is called the Portal de Mercaderes. It 
has twenty-seven arches, and under them are numberless stands 
for the sale of notions, newspapers, cigarettes, and candies. 
Formerly that part of the square was occupied by an Aztec 
dancing school. The poriales continue round the corner of this 
block for a long distance down Sixth Avenue or Coliseo Street. 




The southern side of the square has the City Hall, or the 
Palacio Municipal, a building mostly two stories, but at the 
corners three stories in height. Here is again a long row of 
stone arches finer than those of the west side, and in these 
portaUs are some of the large dry-goods stores of the city. On 
this site the commander-in-chief of the Aztec army had his 
headquarters. The city government and the district officials 
occupy the upper stories. 

This rapid review of the buildings facing .the Plaza will indi- 
cate the important place that this little tract of land holds in the 
history of Mexico. 

Entering the great Cathedral, the party found, of course, a 
service going on, and took seats near the door. The boys 
were surprised to see kneeling on the floor, side by side, the 
richly dressed lady and the ragged Indian, the fashionable 
gentleman and the poor street sweeper. Cripples hobbled across 
the floor, and children walked from altar to altar with their par- 
ents while the priest was reading and the choir was singing their 
parts of the service. At last the benediction was given, and the 
great church was left almost deserted ; perhaps half a hundred 
people remained kneeling and saying their prayers. 

The great church is in the form of a Latin cross, and over the 
central arches rises a magnificent dome decorated by the most 
celebrated artists of the day. The dimensions of the church 
are : length, three hundred and fifty-four feet ; width, one hun- 
dred and seventy-seven feet ; height, one hundred and seventy- 
nine feet. There are five naves, six altars, and fourteen chapels. 
The grandeur of the great structure is, however, detracted from 
by the enormous choir enclosure in the central nave ; by the high 
altar, which is too lofty and too gaudy to harmonize with the 
general simplicity of the surrounding gray and white walls ; bv 
the division of two of the naves into chapels ; and by a wooden 
floor ! But while the first impression is somewhat disappointing 
as compared with that made by a visit to any of the great 

152 



cathedrals of Europe, the visitor is surprised by such a display 
of magnificence. He thinks, what must it have been in the 
days of its glory ! 

The massive railing about the entrance to the choir is a 
curiosity in metal as well as in art. It is a composition of gold, 
silver, and copper, and came from China. Along the passage 
from the choir to the altar are sixty or seventy small figures 
made of the same brilliant metal, serving as light bearers. The 
pulpits and the huge holy-water basins are of onyx. 

Of the fourteen chapels, seven are on each side. In one of 
these on the west side is the tomb of Iturbide, and here the 
title " Liberator " is accorded him. Of the six altars the most 
beautiful is the Altar of the Kings, modelled after the one by the 
same artist in the cathedral of Seville. Below this rest the re- 
mains of some of the viceroys and of the four patriots, Hidalgo, 
Aldama, Allende, and Jimenez, who were executed in Chihuahua. 

The Cathedral stands on the site of the Aztec temple destroyed 
by Cortes. It was begun in 1573, and finished in 1667. 
The towers were finished in 1 791, at a cost of 
$200,000. The whole structure cost about 
$2,000,000. 

On the wall of the west end of the 
Cathedral there is a blackened space 
with an interesting inscription on it. 

"What does all that mean?" asked 
the Corporal. 

" It says that here was exhibited 
till 1885 the famous stone of the 
sun, or Calendar Stone of the Aztecs, and that now you can 
see it in the National Museum." 

" Is that the stone we see so many pictures of? " asked the 
Captain. 

" The same, and there is a cast of it in the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution at Washington. The stone was first found about three hun- 



153 




dred years ago, but buried again at the order of the archbishop. 
In 1790 it was discovered again — it had not stirred probably — 
two hundred and twenty feet west of the main entrance to the 
National Palace. It was l)rought here, where it remained till 
1885. Certainly it is a wonderful thing. It is an immense block 
of porphyry nearly twelve feet s(]uare, about three feet thick, and 
weighs nearly twenty five tons. On this block is engraved a disk 
more than eleven and a half feet in diameter. In the centre is 
carved the face of a man ; some say it represents the sun, others 
think he is the man of the moon and the months. Around this 
are symbols, arranged in seven circles. It is now believed, I 
think, generally, that it had more to do with slaughter than with 
seasons. Bandelier, the highest authority, concludes that this 
stone was a sort of nether millstone in the Aztec sacrifices ; his 
words are, ' It served as the base of the smaller perforated stone 
to which the victim was tied, and upon the two stones the 
gladiatorial sacrifice was performed.' Strange relic of a strange 
people ! 

" Here is the Flower Market. We must come up to it early 
in the morning. You will be astonished to see how many 
flowers you can get for a quarter, or rather for the omnipotent 
dos rea/cs." 

"What kind of flowers?" asked the Corporal. 

" All kinds, and all the year round. Roses, and pansies, and 
heliotrope, ' too numerous to mention.' ' Afuy bonita, seJior,' 
and ' Mity barata,' the sellers say, and very pretty and very 
cheap the buyers think. We shall see great boat loads of 
flowers when we go to the Viga Canal, and there are often liter- 
ally wagon-loads here in and about this little pavilion of iron 
and glass called the Mercado de Flores. 

" While we are so near it," continued the Major, " let us go 
into the Plaza de Santo Domingo. It is rather a forlorn- looking 
square at present, but, like the large Plaza, it has been the scene 
of interesting events. Here is the house of the Inquisition, 

i54 



which ' strong fort and mount of Zion,' as one writer calls it, was 
founded in Mexico in 157 1. Indians were l)y roya! order 
excluded from the jurisdiction of this holy court, but the 
Inquisition found material enough to work upon. The patriot 
Morelos was the last victim. He died in 181 5." 

"Did they burn people in this square of Santo Domingo?" 
asked the Corporal. 

" No, they divided the honor, or the horror, as we thmk, be- 
tween two other squares. The principal brasero, or burning 
place, was near the church of San Diego, on ground which now 
is a part of the Alameda. You see that blunt-cornered building 
yonder? In that were the 
court and prison of the In- 
quisition." 

"And what church is 
this? " asked the Captain. 

" The monastery church 
of Santo Domingo. Like 
that of San Francisco, the 
establishment has been all 
cut to pieces by new streets 
and other improvements. 
Many buildings once here 
have disappeared entirely, 
parts of some remain, as 
you see, but the church has 

been spared. It is one of the largest churches in the city. 
This plaza is interesting also as the second-hand market of 
Mexico. Let us look around a little." 

"What is that man doing? Is he writing?" asked the 
Captain. 

"Yes. He is an evangclis/a, one of a class that has nearly 
gone out of business ; its business is to write letters for those 
who cannot write : love letters, begging letters, all kinds." 




155 



" He seems to be busy ; why do you say the class is going 
out?" asked the Corporal. 

"The schools are doing the business. Thousands of children 
have learned to write in recent years, and much that these 
street writers used to do is now done at home by the chil- 
dren. The city has more than a hundred schools now, and 
is increasing the number rapidly." 

"That is good for Mexico," said the Cap- 
tain. "There is its chief hope for the 
future." 

" Yes, Mexico is rising ; the pres- 
ent administration is doing nobly 
m providing schools, but at present 
hardly one third of the children of 
school age are in attendance. Forty 
years ago not over Si 00,000 was de- 
voted to schools by the government ; 
now it appropriates about $3,500,000 
a year. A good beginning has been 
made, however, and rapid advance- 
ment may be expected. The people 
are learning that education means 
money to them. 
" There are three or f jur interesting points near the Alameda," 
said the Major, " which we can visit before lunch." 

"Oh, this beautiful Alameda ! " exclaimed the Corporal as they 
entered the park ; " it seems prettier than ever." 

" It is always charming. And what a pretty name ! that, you 
know, comes from alamo, a poplar ; but we see here now not 
only poplars, but eucalyptus, willow, ash, cypress, and pepper 
trees. Then the palms and banana plants, and the roses, 
geraniums, and calla lilies ! Isn't it beautiful? Notice here the 
models or miniatures of the volcanoes, crater and all." 
" We might ascend Popocatepetl," said the Captain. 




156 



"Yes, we might, hut there would be an eruption if that police- 
man should see us. 

' Try not the pass, the old man said,' 

or would say." 

As they reached the west end of the park they stopped on the 
spot where the Inquisition punished its offenders, near the church 
of San Diego. 

"Do you see that flag, boys?" asked the Major. 

" Hurrah ! " exclaimed the Corporal, " it is the stars and 
stripes. Hip, hip, r ' 

hurrah ! Salute the 
flag ! " 

"There is the of- 
fice of the legation 
from the United 
States. Our minister 
plenipotentiary and 
envoy extraordinary 
exercises his mighty 
functions on ground 
once belonging. to 
the Monastery of San 
Diego. The church 
is still used, and its 
interior is beautiful." 

" I dare say our 
minister doesn't at- 
tend church there," 
said the Captain. 

" A minister ought to go to church," remarked the Corporal. 

" He wouldn't have to go far," said the Major, " for here are 
five Catholic churches almost within a stone's throw, and right 
over yonder is a Protestant church. Between those two churches 




OLD cuuKCH OF SAN HiroLrro. 



157 



across the street to the north stands the monument ot" Morebs, 
tne last victim of the Inquisition, and a hero second only to 
Hidalgo. He, too, was a priest; he carried on Hidalgo's work 
and followed him in martyrdom. Maximilian unveiled this 
memorial in 1865. Well, here we are at the old church of San 
Hipolito. Notice that stone memorial tablet on the corner, so 
worn that we can hardly read its inscription." 

"If it were in letters of gold or of blazing fire, I couldn't 
read it," said the Captain, " it is in Spanish." 

" Well, can you read the picture in stone ? You see an eagle 
bearing aloft an Indian (not a snake, as on the coat of arms). 
The story of that aeronaut is this. An eagle carried him away 
from his work in a field to a m.ountain cave ; there a spirit told 
him he must return and tell Montezuma that the gods were angry 
with him, and that the kingdom would be destroyed. The 
eagle brought him back and set him down right on this spot. 
Now you know the story in stone. .As to the inscription, it 
remarks: 'In this place on the night of July i, 1520, called the 
Dismal Night, so great was the slaughter of the Spaniards by 
the Aztecs, that after entering the city again in trium[)h the next 
year, the conquerors determined to build a memorial here to be 
named the Chapel of the Martyrs ; and to be dedicated to San 
Hip61ito, for on that saint's day the city was taken.' " 

" Martyrs ! Cortes and company martyrs I " exclaimed the 
Captain. " If the inscription had said butchers, it would have 
been nearer the truth." 

" Well, they're dead now," said the Cor])oral, " don't rake up 
old scores. Was Cortes here himself ? " 

"Yes, but his captain, .Mvarado, was the hereof the hour. 
Right here was the city limit on the west ; a moat surrounded 
the town, and here was a fortification ; in fact, it was also the 
prison where slaves intended for the sacrifices were kept. 
The Spaniards had been in possession of the city since Novem- 
ber, 15 19, and their cruelty caused the Aztecs to rebel. They 

i=;8 




pursued the Spaniards, who were fleeing 
for their Hves, over this causeway to 
the mainhmd. Here so great a 
slaughter occurred that the moat 
was filled with bodies. Alva- 
rado, like Ney, the last to re- 
treat, sa\ed himself by a most| 
wonderful leap over the canal/ 
and joined Cortes, who had halted 
at Tacuba. The tree, called the 
El Arbol de Noche Triste, under 
which Cortes wept, is still standing. 
The Spaniards started for the coast, 
but went only to Tlascala, where they were promised men 
and means by the Tlascalans, who were the mortal foes of the 
Aztecs. Six months Cort(^s worked day and night getting ready 
to return and punish the rebels. Re-enforcements came from 
Cuba, boats were built and launched on Lake Texcoco. Sulphur 
was brought from the volcano and made into gunpowder, and 
the native troops were drilled in the art of war. On the last 
day of the year, 1520, Cortes with his Spanish force and Indian 
allies began the siege of the doomed city. The siege lasted 
more than half a year, and on Aug. 13, 15 21, the Spaniards took 
possession again and ruled the country for exactly three hundred 
years. Iturbide, you will remember, put an end to their power 
in August, 1 82 1." 

''This is an 'old corner bookstore,' " said the Corporal ; "it 
tells us so much." 

" Well, come on, there's another place near by that will tell us 
several stories. It is the pafitto?i of San Fernando, only two 
blocks west of San Hip61ito. 

"This is the little plaza of San Fernando; that bronze is a 
statue to Vicente Guerrero, the leader of the patriots, with whom 
Iturbide joined to achieve the independence of Mexico, and 

159 



>vho afterwards was President. We shall see his tomb in the 
enclosure yonder, which has been aptly termed the Westminster 
of Mexico. There many of the most distinguished men of the 
country are buried. The names of Juarez, Ciuerrero, Zaragoza, 
Comonfort, Mejia, and Miramon recall the most stirring events 
in the history of the Republic." 

Of the tombs none are worthy of note except that of Juarez. 
This is by far the finest memorial in Mexico. On a stone plat- 
form in an open marble temj)le, the roof of which is supported 
by sixteen Doric pillars, stands the massive sarcophagus on 




which rests the memorial sculpture. It rei)resents the Rc|)ublic 
holding in her lap the head of the hero over whose dead body 
she mourns. A grateful country has filled the little temple with 
tokens of admiration and affection. The tomb of Juarez meets 
every requirement of a worthy memorial to one who, like our 
Washington, was " first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen." 

" Here Juarez slumbers m divine repose, 
His effigy in marble rubes arrayed, 
And in the statucd lap of Krce<lom laid 
As pure as the Sierra Madre's snows." 

1 60 



A suggestive fact it is that here, within a few feet of the tomb 
of Juarez, rest, in sepulchres inscribed only with their names, 
the remains of the unfortunate generals, Miramon and Mejia. 
A magnanimous country, in permitting their burial here, recog- 
nizes their bravery. 

"This is not now a public cemetery," said the Major, as they 
were walking towards the gate. " There are perhaps one thou- 
sand two hundred graves here ; many of them, as you see, cham- 
bers in the walls of the enclosure." 

" Curious they don't give dates of birth and death," said the 
Captain, pointing to a tablet on which were only two words. 
"Here is 'ELLA DUERME,' and nothing more." 

"That is enough," replied the Major, smihng at the natural mis- 
take. "You will probably find a name and the dates on the other 
sides of the monument. Those words simply say, 'She sleeps.' " 

" That is a good one on you, Captain," said the Corporal. 

" Easy enough to make a mistake like that here where men 
are named Maria," replied the Captain, smiling. 

"Let us look into the old church of San Fernando," continued 
the Major. " It is one of the largest churches in the city." 

"Are there many Protestant churches in Mexico?" asked the 
Captain. 

" The Presbyterians have about ninety churches, and a mem- 
bership of about four thousand ; the Methodists have fifteen 
churches, and a membership of nearly four thousand ; the Baptists 
have fifteen churches, and a membership of about one thousand." 

" And how about CathoUc churches ? " asked the Corporal. 

"The census of 1888 state that there are 10,112 Catholic 
churches and chapels in Mexico. The membership includes the 
whole population of 12,000,000, excepting, perhaps, 25,000. 
State and church are separated by the Laws of the Reform, 
established in 1874, but operative before, under the administra- 
tion of President Juarez. Six archbishops and twenty-one bishops 
now administer the affairs of the church in Mexico." 

i6i 



X. 



I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola." 

^1s i'ou Like It. 

AM( )X( )S ;i la \'iga ! " exclaimed the Major, as the 
party finished the coffee and rolls. " This early 
start is the right thing, first, because early morn- 
ing is the lively time along 
the canal ; and, second, 
we must get back in time 
to visit the Museum, 
which is open only till 
r.'^' noon." 

"1 don't care much for 
a canal," said the Cap- 
tain. 

" But you will care for 
this one. The Viga Ca- 
/ul'-'.-^ .-■r*'" nal has no towpath, and 
' - no boats with any decks. 
The Viga fleet is composed wholly of flalboats, and the motive- 
power of the same is a pole and an Indian." 

".An Indian cni^ine 1 \\ Ould two Indians make a comjiound 
engine? " asked the Corporal. 

" Wait a little while and you'll see for yourself" 

Taking street cars at the south side of the great Plaza, a 

short ride through the lowest anil dirtiest jjart of the city brings 

us to the stream with the i)retty name, which is spelled with a 

\', and which suggests \'enice. Visions of gondolas soon 




162 



vanish, and Venice is forgotten ; tlie illusion is rather a delusion. 
We discover that the street cars run along the bank of the 
stream, and that from them a better view of the things we have 
come to see can be obtained than from a flatboat, and so we 
pass the flatboats by, that is, we do if we are 
wise. As the party came to the poi nt where. 
the passenger boats are tied up, the | 
Major said, 





" Here you are. Corporal ; all 
aboard for Santa Anita, Ixtacalco, 
and Xochimilco." 

" I think I'd rather make the 
trip in the car," said the Corporal. 
"We can see more that way." 

" Yes, and do it in less time," 
atlded the Captain. 

" Which way is up stream ? " 
asked the Corporal. 

"Away from the city is up 
stream. Lake Xochimilco, which supplies the water, is four feet 
higher than the city, and so, towards the city is down stream." 

"That is lucky for the boatmen. They have the current with 
them in getting their loads to market," said the Captain. 



163 



" They have big loads, too ; see those boats stocked with 
wood ! A man would not be able to pole that load up stream. 
You see what a variety of stuff the boats bring in, — vegetables, 
hay, wood, stone, sand, fruit, and flowers." 

" Flowers ! look at that load ! " exclaimed the Corporal. "The 
boat is so full that there is hardly any room for the engine to 
work ! " 

" .^nd here on the bank," said the Major, " you see an active 
market, piles of fruit and stocks of flowers. Notice that families 




live on the boats while in ])ort. They have a floating hotel ; in 
fact, many families live all the time in their boats. Here is one 
of the gates {garifas), where the city tax is collected. They 
don't have much ' free trade ' in Mexico." 

" See those little island gardens ! " exclaimed the Captain, 
"and the boats going about in tlic ditches around them." 



164 




IRRIGATION. 



"Yes, these are the famous 'floating islands' of story. They 
are called chinainpas by the natives. Perhaps they once floated, 
but they do not float now." 

" No, Major, they are stuck in the mud," said the Corporal. 

" Right, and they are made mostly of mud. You see men at 
work digging mud from the large canal and carrying it to these 
islands, where they spread it or use it in banking up the sides. 
The gardens are very fertile and bear crops all the year round." 




"They are alj shaped alike, I see," said the Captain, " say two 
hundred feet long and narrow, not more than ten or twelve feet 
wide. What a fine road this is, and all the way under great 
shade trees ! " 

" Santa Anita ! here we are. Pretty name, but not a very 
pretty place. Mostly thatch-roofed restaurants or flat-roofed 
gambling places ; games going on> in a small way, almost all 
the time. We'll stop off and watch them on our way back." 

Off again, the next stop is Ixtacalco. Along the bank of the 
canal the sportive mules gallop as if they were in a hurry to 
arrive. They don't mean it, but they do beat the solitary Indian 
poling along his light canoe, and the passenger feels glad as he 



165 



passes the boats that he stayed on the car and did not consign 
himself to the creeping chalupa on the raging canal. More 
alleged floating gardens are passed, and we come to another 
market i)lace and a small village, which can show a big church 
more than three hundred years old ; this is Ixtacalco. ]!ut we 
are going farther, and so do not make a stop here. 

"Where are we going?'' asked the Corporal; "to the lake?" 
" No, not quite. \N'e are going to Ixtapalapa, and then to the 
Hill of the Star; we turn east from the canal at the next village, 
which is Mexicalcingo. The canal goes on directly south, five 
or six miles farther, to the lake : we will see the lake from the 
hill. Vou can see the hill yonder." 

" That one with the cross on the summit? " 





"Yes; tluii i.> ail historic old hill, and from it we shall get a 
fine view of the lakes and of the valley and the volcanoes." 

" Here we are at Mexicalcingo," said the Captain, " not much 
to see here ! " 

"Nothing, except this rare old briilge , isn't that a ]»retty 
view? Over that highway, crossing the bridge, Cortes went, in 
1 5 19, to meet Montezuma, who came out of the city to recei\e 
him. We leave the canal here and follow that highway to 
Ixtapalai)a, where th«re is something to see worth going to see." 

The car passed through a long narrow street of low adobe 
houses, and came to the entl of the track, where the mules 



1C6 



ceased from their festive gallop, the driver from his arduous 
labor, and the passengers from their interesting ride. 

"What on earth is there here, Major? two pulque shops, 
three dusty streets, and a dozen dirty children, that is all. I can 
see," said the Captain. " Oh, yes ; there is a woman and a dog 
and two burros ! " 

" This is the worst I ever saw," added the Corporal, " dead as 
Julius Caesar ! " 

" Yes, dead, and not buried," said the Captain. 

" Not quite as bad as that, boys ; not quite dead, but very 
old. This was a royal residence when the Spaniards came into 
the country, and perhaps founded in the year 669. We are 
on prehistoric grounds, and in a place that has a right to 
a good rest after a lifetime of more than a thousand years. 
What the people of Ixtapalapa lack in vivacity, they make up for 
in devotion to their religion. Aztec traditions and customs 
prevail here undisturbed by modern notions. This was the 
home of Cuauhtemoc, the brave prince who made a Noche 
Triste for Cortes." 

Going down one of the dingy streets ornamented chiefly by 
cactus, they came to a little market place, and crossing it 
entered the great yard of the church, in which were many 
tombs. A massive wall of stone, with embrasures and turrets 
like those of a fort enclosure, surrounds the yard. 

" This is something like the wall around the old church at 
Tula," said the Captain. 

" Very like it, and doubtless was intended for the same pur- 
pose, — defence. It is probably as old, too." 

The front door of the Parrequia was fastened, but an Indian 
was found who admitted the visitors by an entrance through a 
chapel. The notable things to be seen in the church are the 
"blue moon and yellow sun" at the high altar, and they are 
peculiarly sacred to these Indian worshippers. Crossing again 
the market place to the south, a short walk through a better part 

167 



of the town brought them to a stone chapel which is attractive in 
appearance., both without and within. Here an Indian was con- 
ducting some sen'ice, and many worshippers were kneeling and 
saying prayers. Here were found some fine jiaintings and every 
sign of a well-sustained chapel. The boys were much impressed 
by what they saw, and the Captain asked, — 

" Do they attend church every day? " 

"Nearly, I think. I never was here when I did not see some 
senice going on ; at any rate, these people are notably religious. 
In this chapel they sometimes have passion plays, as they do at 




IXIATAI-ArA. 



.\mecameca. The Indians perform the parts here as there. 
What a fine avenue of shade trees this is ! And here is a sacred 
cave," continued the Major, leading the way j)ast the chapel on 
the east. 

A well-worn ])ath led under an immense arch, and the party 
found themselves in a low cave, long and wide, the floor of 
whi( h was covered with large stones which have fallen there. 
At the extreme end of the cave is a spring, and a path made to 
it through the rocks shows that it is much used ; in fact, two 
Indians were seen di])ping water while the party was in the cave. 
The boys noticed many little crosses, and also crowns and 



1 68 



wreaths made of small twigs or splinters, and stuck in the 
cracks of the rocks all about the entrance and overhead along 
the path to the spring. 

"What do these things mean?" asked the Corporal. 

" They are offerings, or they indicate prayers. Notice that 
some of them are wound with hair ; those are either signs of 
thanks for relief from headache or other sickness, or of prayers 
for deliverance from some disease. The cave and the spring 
are both regard'ed as sacred by the natives. If those Indians 
were not here, I might gather a few of these votos as curiosities ; 
there is a pretty one." 

"You wouldn't really take any of them, would you?" said the 
Captain. 

" Perhaps not ; but I have seen visitors take some of them." 

" This is certainly an interesting place. I'm glad we came," 
said the Corporal. "Let's have a drink from the sacred spring." 

The Indians had not yet gone out with their jars of water, and 
on request seemed much pleased to give a drink to the visitors. 
They told the Major that great cures had been effected by its 
waters in answer to prayers. When he told the boys what they 
said, the Corporal remarked, — 

"I don't doubt it, I feel better myself already." 

" Now for a little chmb. The ' Hill of the Star ' is about 
seven hundred feet high, and we have a mile walk to reach the 
top. There is the trail behind the chapel." 

"Pretty steep grade. Major, but my wind is good," said 
the Captain. 

" You'll need to go slowly. . Remember you are two thousand 
feet higher now than the top of Mt. Washington. The air is 
thin here. You will get tired very easily." 

Following the trail they gradually rose above the village and 
the surrounding valley. Suddenly they came upon the edge of 
a great cavity, thirty or forty feet across and ten or fifteen feet 
deep. 

169 



" What is this? " asked the Corporal. " It looks like a ciater 
of a volcano." 

" 'Jhat is just what it is. This whole hill is of volcanic 
origin ; in fact, all the hills you see in the Valley of Mexico 
are of the same origin. This hill has a great many of these 
blow-holes or little craters, and about it are sulphur springs. 
Over yonder to the west of us is a great lava bed called the 
Pedregal, covering an area of more than ten square miles. 
From the edge of it came the great stone of the sun and also 
the greater sacrificial stones. This lava bed is from twenty to 
forty-five feet thick. There are caves and fissures in it ; fissures 
like those in the Mer de Glace and other glaciers. This hill is 
simply the cone of a crater. The top of it has been levelled off, 
as you will see." 

" Why, there is corn growing in this hole," exclaimed the 
Captain. 

"As sure as you live," added the Corporal. "Nice warm 
place for a garden. Already walled in, too." 

They soon came upon another and a larger cavity, in which 
could be seen greater evidences of the action of heat. The 
trail now led off to the west to a promontory considerably below 
the summit, and quite overhanging the valley. The view from 
here was fine, especially towards the west. The canal seemed 
to be just below them, and could be traced its whole length 
from the Lake of Xochimilco, which now was seen by them 
for the first time. The floating gardens appeared like strij)s of 
green carpet with silver borders. Domes and towers marked 
the location of a score of villages, the largest of which are San 
Angel and Tlalpam. 

"Beautiful I " exclaimed all. " This is worth coming to see." 

" lUit the best is to come yet. Another little climb, and 
standing by that cross we shall have one of the finest landscape 
views in the world. How is your wind, Captain? " 

" (Jood, but I'm glad the top is no farther away." 

170 



" I would like some more of that holy spring water," said the 
Corporal; "why, here is a wheat-field, and there is a potato 
patch almost on top of the mountain ! " 

In a few minutes they reached the rocks, which project almost 
perpendicularly from the cone. Here they had a steep climb, 
but soon were on the summit. 
When he had recovered his 
breath the Corporai said, — 

" What a great cross ! These 
timbers are as large round as I 
am ; and who placed it here, 
I wonder." 

"This has been a sacred hill 
for centuries, certainly five cen- 
turies, and perhaps ten," said 
the Major. 

"Why is it called the 'Hill 
of the Star ' (Cerro de la Es- 
trella)?" 

" The shape of this plateau 
is not unlike that of a star ; per- 
haps that suggested the name. 
This level place is artificial, 
not natural; probably the hill came to a ragged peak, or was 
a crater-like rim, as that one is yonder. It was levelled for the 
site of a temple." 

" A temple ! up here ! " exclaimed the Corporal. 

" Yes, one of the most sacred places of the Aztecs. Here a 
solemn procession came once in every fifty-two years to celebrate 
the beginning of a ' new period,' somewhat as the Jews cele- 
brated the great jubilee or fiftieth year. At the expiration 
of a cycle every fire was extinguished, and priests and people 
came here to obtain the new fire for another cycle. A victim 
was sacrificed, and with great ceremony the high priest built a 




HILT. OF THE STAR. 



171 



fire from which was taken the ember or torch which gave the 
new fire to the nation. And now take in the view from this 
summit. Did you ever see anything so grand? Yonder on the 
north is the capital, see the Cathedral towers ; and the spires of 
a hundred monasteries, convents, and churches. Beyond is the 
sacred hill of Guadalupe ; east of it the volcanic peak of Penon ; 
then Texcoco Lake, a blue sea with here a white beach 
and there a green shore. On the west in the distance is Cha- 
pultei)ec, crowned with its castle, and nearer, a chain of pretty 
villages, succeeded by twin Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco ; the 
whole valley rimmed by mountains which yonder, as you see, 
lift their white heads almost to the sky." 

" It is a splendid view," said the Corporal. " I would not like 
to miss this, but I suppose many do miss it." 

" Oh, yes, very few come here, but those who do come are 
charmed with their trip." 

" It beats anything we have had yet," said the Captain. " You 
see so many things of difierent kinds in a short excursion. 
There is the canal, the gardens, the chapels, and caves, and 
craters, and lakes, and last and greatest of all those volcanoes ; 
they seem very near here. This is perfectly splendid ! " 

" I think there is no other lookout point in the valley to 
compare with it," said the Major. " You are here four times as 
high as the Cathedral towers, or the Castle of Chapultepec. 
You are in nearly the middle of the valley, midway between 
the lakes, and your view is unobstrueted in every direction. For 
these reasons it appears to me the best point of observation in 
the Valley of Mexico." 

"And easy to reach," said the Cai)tain. " In two hours from 
the hotel we can be on top of this hill." 

"What a place fur a picnic," said the Corjioral. "Bring a 
basket of sandwiches from the hotel ; get our fruit here in the 
village, and our water at the spring in the cave, and here you are 
for as long as you please. Let's come again and spend the day." 

172 



"We certainly shall if we can find time; this is my favorite 
excursion in the Valley of Mexico. I have wondered why the 
guide-books make so little mention of its charms." 




The Museo Nacional occupies that part of the Palace Block 
which was formerly the Mint. At the entrance, No. 921 Caile 
de la Moneda, are heavy bronze doors under 
a portal of Corinthian columns, which admit 
the visitor to a charming patio in which may /* 
be seen splendid specimens of the peculiar 
plants of Mexico. On either side of the 
court a broad stone stairway leads to the 
upper storv of the Museum, which is 
- devoted to the natural his- 
tory exhibit. The ground 
., floor is occupied by the 
exhibit of antiquities. Here \ 
the visitor will find a won- 
derful collection of prehistoric 
ren:iains. Among the most wonderful things 
j -^ I to be seen are the names of the parties 




\ 




173 



commemorated. They are as massive as the monoliths and as 
dreadful to contemplate as the Sacrificial Stone. The Spaniards 
deserve a vote of thanks for bringing a new and musical set of 
names into this once distressed country. 

It is not necessary for the visitor to pronounce any of these 
frightful names. For gods and goddesses alike he may use the 
universal name of "what's his name," and all will be well; they 
don't understand English. 

The reader is alreaily familiar with the so-called Aztec 
Calendar Stone (see page 153). He must now be made 
acquainted with the idol Huitzilopochtlih Mexitli. It is a two- 
faced, as well as a two-named, image in porphyry, nearly 
nine feet high. This represents the chief god of ancient 
Mexico. The Indio Triste (the sad Indian), of 
black basalt, three and one half feet high, was 
found (dead) in the street now named for him 
in 1828. This statue is one of the stone torch- 
)earers at the portal of some building. The Sac- 
«jj^ rificial Stone, a cylinder of porphyry, two and 
three quarters feet high, eight and one half feet in 
diameter and twenty-seven feet in cir- 
cumference, was found near the south- 
west corner of the Cathedral in 1791. 
Its surface bears reliefs nearly an inch 
high. In the centre is a circular 
^ basin one and one half feet in diam- 
'* eter and six inches deep ; around 
this are seven rings bearing signs 
similar to those on the Calendar 
Stone. Around the rim are thirty figures representing warriors 
holding men and women (supposed to be victims for sacrifice) 
by their hair. The date of the stone is 1484. Chac-Mool 
(god of fire) is represented by two figures. These were brought 
from Yucatan. They are interesting, but nut pretty. 





174 



Space and patience forbid any further attempt to list the 
strange things which may be seen in the Museum of Antiquities. 
We must mention, however, a few of the principal objects of 
interest in other departments. Here are relics of Hidalgo, his 
standard, his cane, and his gun ; the red damask standard of the 
conquerors, a portrait of Cor- 
tes, the helmet of Alvarado, 
the carriage and silver service 
of Maximilian. In the central 
gallery hangs a shield of Mon- 
tezuma, which was sent by 
Corti^s to the Emperor Charles 
V. ; it was formerly in the 
Museums of Brussels and of ~ 
Vienna, but in 1866 was pre- 
sented to this Museum by 
Maximilian. The display of 
earthenware, of coins, of im- 
plements of warfare and of 
domestic use is rich and very 
interesting. One may spend 
many hours in this Museum 
very profitably. To see this 
exhibit is worth a trip to 
Mexico. 

In the Art Gallery, called 
the Academy of San Carlos, 
there are a few paintings of 
superior merit. There are 
miles of canvas on which the masters of Europe, as well as of 
Mexico, have displayed their skill. Murillo, Rubens, Van Dyke, 
and Leonardo da Vinci are represented in the third gallery. The 
most notable paintings of Mexican artists are, " Xochitl and her 
Father Papantzin presenting the Toltec Prince Tecpaucaltzin 




175 



with a new Drink" (imlque), by Obregon, and "Brother 
Bartolomc cle las Casas as Protector of the Indians," by Parra. 
This hist named, says Janvier, " in nobihty of subject, grandeur 
and simplicity of treatment, and strong but subdued color, ranks 
as one of the great pictures of the world. Work such as this 
affords ample ground for fiiith in the future of Mexican art." 

As the party left the Art (iallery, the Major said, " Now we 
will go and look at a jucture that is vastly more beautiful than 
any we have seen, and thousands of years older than any of the 
antiques in the Museum." 

"What do you mean? " asked the Corporal. 

" I mean the view of the \'alley of Mexico from the towers of 
the Cathedral." 

"The afternoon is the best time for that view, isn't it?" said 
the Captain. 

" Yes, we'll go up now and stay till sunset. You will get the 
view of a lifetime, and it will last you for a lifetime. Keats must 
have recalled some such view when he wrote : — 

' A thing of beauty is a joy forever: 
Its loveliness increases; it will never 
Pass into nothingness.' " 




176 



XI. 

" The monarch of mountains, 
They crowned him long ago 
On a throne of rock, in a robe of clouds. 
With a diadem of snow." 



Manfred, 



E must go to Amecameca to-morrow morn- 
ing," exclaimed the Major, laying down the 
paper which he had been reading. 

"Why, to-moriow is Sunday," said the 
Corporal, in surprise. 

" I know it, but we'll 
go along with the pil- 
grims. There is to be 
a peregrinacion to Sacro 
Monte." 

"What is that?" the 
Captain asked. 
" In English we call it a pilgrimage." 
"Do they make pilgrimages in this country? " 
" Yes, plenty of them, and they are interesting sights to 
visitors from our country. Pilgrimages have been more frequent 
than usual this year on account of the fear of cholera." 

" What has that to do with a pilgrimage? " asked the Corporal. 
" Everything; what is a pilgrimage for? " 
" I am sure I don't know ; tell us, please." 
" It is a visit to some shrine for the purpose of returning 
thanks or of asking a special blessing. The people here are 




177 



alarmed at the prevalence of cholera in Europe, and many are 
going to Sacro Monte to-morrow to pray that Mexico may be 
l)rotected from the pestilence. There have been several 
pilgrimages to (iuadalupe for the same purpose, and there will be 
many more before the summer is past. I heard of two train 
loads of pilgrims on the Central to-day : one from Zacatecas 
and one from San Luis Potosi. You see that these people go a 
great way to visit their shrines." 

" It certainly will be interesting to see one of these pil- 
grimages," said tiie Captain ; " let us go by all means." 

"Where is the Sacro Monte?" asketl the 
Corporal. 

" It is a hill about forty miles southeast 
of this city, at the base of the volcanoes. 
It rises boldly out of the surrounding plain 
at Amecameca, and affords the best possi- 
ble view of the great mountains, — one of 
the great views of the world." 

"There will be a crowd, of course," said 
the Corporal. 

" I should like to see a Mexican crowd," 
said the Captain. " It must be a pictur- 
esque sight." 

"They arc a ipiict and orderly people. Vou'll have an inter- 
esting day, I assure you. There are some interesting sights along 
the road, some in the village and vicinity, and the shrine itself is 
a curious thing. We pass over the lowest point in this valley, 
and go where you can almost put your hand on the base of the 
highest, the snow-capped Popocatepetl." 

" We shall have a full day's work then, if we are to take 
account of a village, two volcanoes, a holy mountain, and a pil- 
grimage," said the Captain. 

"Study up this evenings© that you will know something about 
what you are looking at. You are to visit that ' highest moun- 




178 



tain in Mexico ' that the schoolbooks tell us about. The name 
Popocatepetl signifies ' smoking mountain,' and Ixtaccihuatl 
means 'white woman.' " 

The Corporal reported, a short time after, the result of his 
study as follows : The volcanoes are fifty miles southeast of the 
city of Mexico. Popocatepetl is 17,777 feet, and Ixtaccihuatl 
17,071 feet in height. No trees grow above an elevation of 
13,054 feet, no vegetation is found above 13,710 feet, and per- 
petual snow is found at a height of 14,104 feet. 

" Do many people go up these mountains ?" asked the Cap- 
tain. 

" Yes, quite a number every year. The ascent of Popo- 
catepetl can be made safely and quite easily from Amecameca. 
There is a miners' camp and 
residence at an elevation of 
12,772 feet, known as the 
'Rancho de Tlamacas,' and 
it is just about as high above 
the village as the summit of 
Mt. Washington is above the 
Glen House in the White 
Mountains. The aspiring 
climber stays over night at 
this ranch, starts up Popo- 
catepetl very early the next 
morning, reaches the crater 
and goes down into it four 
hundred to five hundred feet by bucket and windlass, up out 
of it by the same means, and returns to the ranch the same 
day. You see that is quite a day's work. The entrance to 
the crater is at a height of 17,260 feet, and one has to make 
from the ranch an ascent equal to that of Mt. Washington, 
more than half of it (3,600 feet) above the line of perpetual 
snow. The two peaks of the crater's rim are called ' Espinazo 




POl'OCATErETL FROM SACRO MONTE. 



179 



del Diablo' (the Devil's Backbone) and 'Pico Mayor' (the 
Highest Point). Very few visitors reach that point." 

" I should think that any one would be satisfied with an eleva- 
tion of three and a half miles," said the Captain. 

" Yes, so should I, but then you know the 

'Youth who bore mid snow and ice 
The banner with the strange device.' " 

" Oh, yes, and I know what happened to him." 

" We might as well finish up the volcanoes while we are talk- 
ing about them," added the Major. " We have seen them in 
miniature on the Alameda. The crater is oval in shape, about 
two thousand feet across one way and thirteen hundred feet the 
other way. It is very like a funnel; on its ragged walls are 
layers of lava and crystals of feldspar, and sulphur." 

" It is not an active volcano now, is it? " 

" Not very; the last eruption occurred in 1802 ; the volcano 
is just now taking a siesta, but all the time it is breathing out 
sulphur through a dozen nostrils, each from eight to ten inches 
in diameter." 

" Is what's her name, the White Woman, a volcano too?" 

" Probably it is, although her crown has not the common crater 
shape. There are several real glaciers on Ixtaccihuatl, and it is 
a very difficult thing to ascend that mountain." 

" You spoke of a miners' ranch. What is mined on the 
mountain?" 

" Sulphur ; it is believed that Popocatepetl is a bonanza, for 
its sulphur is of superior quality." 

" Then these mountains are good for something besides show," 
said the Corporal. 

"Oh, yes indeed, Cortes found use for them in 1520; here 
he procured his supply of sulphur; and this was the great and 
only ice producer of this region until quite recently. Mexico, 
Pucbla, and other cities obtained their ice from the net'eros (or 

180 



snow gatherers) of Amecameca and other villages near the 
mountains. Another product is charcoal, which is the chief and 
almost the only fuel of this country. Many men and burros get 
their living by making and transporting it from the forests." 

" A curious combination that of ice-house and sulphur mine," 
said the Captain. 

The mine has been worked steadily since 1849 ; the product 
is about four tons a month. The great highway from the coast to 




the capital passes now, as it did long before the time of Cortes, 
between the two volcanoes. By that road, a highway indeed, 
Spanish, French, and American invaders of this country have 
marched, and from those heights have descended on its capital. 

"Shall we go with the pilgrims?" asked the Corporal. 

" Of course," answered the Captain, " for we are pilgrims and 
strangers too. Let us go with the pilgrims, by all means." 



181 



" One object of our visit to Mexico," said the Major, " is to 
see the people as they are, in their homes, at their business, on 
their excursions of pleasure, at their devotions in church, at their 
amusements, and now we shall see thousands on a religious 
journey, ^^'e must go early to the station or we shall not find 
a seat. I'll leave orders to be called." 

Up at five o'clock and off for San Lazaro station of the Inter- 
oceanic Railway. The train of seventeen coaches is packed 
twenty minutes before starting time, and sale of tickets is 
stopped, disappointing hundreds who had put off hast.i manana 
what they should have done esfa vianiina. The prudent ones 
all aboard and the careless ones all left till next time, the 
train with its twehe hundred pilgrims pulls out promptly. A 
few prayer-books are seen in use, but there is a good deal more 
of lunch than litany going on. All seem interested in the scen- 
ery ; good order and good nature prevail, and all enjoy themselves 
as best they can. 

On we go across the plain, Lake Texcoco on our left glisten- 
ing like burnished silver, and soon arrive at the famous olive 
vill.ge Ayotla, on the northern shore of Lake Chalco. Did you 
ever see such big olive-trees ! Then we arrive at La Compania, 
where we might take a tram car to the quaint old, very old 
town of Chalco, dating back to 990, and where we do take on 
an extra locomotive for the ascent of the Sierra Nevada, which 
begins here. We are on historic ground all the way, for this is 
the region in which — 

" Cities arose, ruled, dwiiulled to decay, 
linipires were formed, then darkly swept away, 
Race followed race, like cloud shades o'er the field. 
The stranger still to stranger doomed to yield." 

This village of Amecameca was fjunded by the Chichimecs in 
A. D. 647; the Toltecs drove them out in 713; the Aztecs 
subdued the Toltecs in 8S5 ; and Cortes, in 1520, made the 

1S2 



Aztecs subjects and slaves of Spain. How "like cloud shades 
o'er the field " have races come and gone ! 

On and up we go nearer to the snowy peaks which are in sight 
all the way, until we are so near that we can almost touch them, 
and the train stops at the station in Amecameca at the foot of 
the hill of pilgrimage, " Cerro del Sacromonte." 

The boom of cannon and strains of music greet the pilgrims; 
the cura welcomes the leaders of the host. A procession is im- 
mediately formed and pro- ^ 
ceeds to the parish church, 
which is very gayly deco- 
rated for the great occa- 
sion. The celebration of 
a mass keeps the pilgrims 
in the church for an hour, 
after which they scatter in 
groups about the atrium, 
or in the large yard, for re- 
freshments. Many repair 
to the plaza, where the na- 
tives are present in force 
with their merchandise of 
fruit, tortillas, /a males, en- 
saLidas, etc., ready to sup- 
ply the pilgrims with some- 
thing substantial to assist 
them in making their jour- 
ney to the shrine on Sacro 
Monte. ■- - '"""^ -■■■-- 

"Let us leave them," said the Major, "and make our pilgrim- 
age ahead of the crowd ; for when this great multitude gets there, 
we can see nothing but the multitude and the mountain. We 
want to see much more, so let's go now, taking a bite of history 
as we go." 




183 



Crossing the plaza the party passed under the arch on which 
stands a statue of Saint Simon Stilites, with a leg up, which he 
cannot get down. 

" Simon says legs up," said the Corporal, as he gazed at the 
saint. 

On the way to Sacro Monte is a tile in the wall of an aban- 
doned chapel on which are some grateful words for the late 
lamented Emperor Vturbide. The ascent of the hill is made 
upon a broad stone-paved road, quite steep, leading to the shrine 
near the summit. This is the Via Crucis, having a little chapel 
at the foot, and the fourteen stations of the Cross along the way. 
Groups of pilgrims are already climbing the hill and kneeling at 
each station. It is said that very devout pilgrims make the 
entire journey over the rough stones on their knees. 

Arriving at the shrine in the chapel, illuminated with many 
candles and already nearly filled with kneeling, praying wor- 
shippers, the party saw the object of veneration, a life-size image 
of the dead Christ. Some say that a pious monk placed this 
image here about 1527 ; others say that a mule bearing it strayed 
from a train which was carrying sacred things to Mexico, and was 
found in this cave ; that the people of the town bought the image 
which had thus signified its wish to remain here, and placed it in 
a shrine in the cave. It is well authenticated that the image was 
here before 1550; and hence this has been a sacred mount for 
nearly three and a half centuries ! The image, made of cork, 
weighing only two and one half pounds, is enclosed in a glass 
casket, from which it is removed but once a year, in Holy 
Week. On Ash Wednesday the image is brought down to the 
parish church, where it remains until the night of Good Friday, 
when it is taken to its shrine. In Holy Week occurs the great 
festival of the year. Thousands come to the fair which is then 
held in the town, and remain to take part in the great closing 
event of the week, the return of the image to Sacro Monte. 
Before its removal from the church the Indians perform a pas- 

184 



sion play in the vestibule. After darkness has settled on the 
town a procession is formed, and amid groans and prayers the 
faithful worshippers escort by torchlight the sacred relic to its 
resting place for another year. 

"It must be an interesting scene," said the Captain. 

" It must be, indeed. I wish we could be here on Good Fri- 
day night," added the Corporal. 

" If we were we should not see a procession, for a recent law 
forbids religious processions." 

"Well, how then can there be one to-day? " 

"That will be different from the old one. It is not a 'pro- 
cession ' within the meaning of the law. It is only ' pilgrims 
marching along.' It will not have the sacred image with it, and 
perhaps the people are forgetting the law for the day. In 1886 
there was no procession ; a custom which had been observed 
religiously for more than three hundred years became a thing of 
the past in 1885." 

"That seems too bad, doesn't it? What harm could it do? " 

"I don't know, I am sure," replied the Major. "In some 
places, the capital, for instance, where party spirit runs high at 
times, processions might be the means of doing harm, and a law 
against them or any law must be enforced in the corners as well 
as at the centre of a country." 

"Do you know the origin of these pilgrimages ? " 

" No ; the Spanish invaders found the natives given to them, 
and substituted new images for those of the Aztecs and of the 
other tribes whom they worked to convert. What a magnificent 
view this is ! " 

" Ah ! there they come," exclaimed the Captain, pointing to 
the village. " They have left the plaza already, and will soon 
be on the Via Crucis. Let's get a seat where we can be a little 
above and close to them as they pass." 

" That is a good idea," said the Major, " and let us study the 
faces of the pilgrims. We shall see whether they are devout or 

185 



indifTerent, whether they have a meaning and interest in what 
they do or are simply doing this because they think they must 
do it." 

The citizens had made rustic arches over the Via Crucis at 
several points. Near the chapel at the foot of the hill was a 
beautiful one made of leaves and heno or Spanish moss, and 
bearing the words, Bicn Venidos Sean (Welcome). The pro- 
cession soon passed under this, and began the ascent, the priests 
reciting the Litany of the Saints, and the pilgrims responding, 




Ui\i /.'. /.../i. .Ml 
ages were represents 
in the solemn march 
and music. The child 
of six and the matron 
of sixty walked side by side bearing lighted cand'o, and taking 
an equal part in the service. Slowly the i)rocession of pilgrims 
moved on and up, bearing various banners and emblems of de- 
votion, to the sacred shrine. All along the way on either side of 
the procession were throngs of jjeople, mostly residents of the 
village, but there were also many Indians from the mountain dis- 



i86 



tricts. These, all with uncovered heads, moved with the solemn 
procession, apparently as intent on the business of the hour as 
the pilgrims themselves. They joined in the responses and in 
the chants. It was a devout multitude, inspired by the de- 
votion of the pilgrims from Mexico. To all alike this was a 
sacred mount, and a looker on could hardly fail to think that 
these devotees were m their spirit like those of the olden 
time who climbed the holy hill of Zion to seek a blessing in 
Ihe Temple. 

The company arriving at the chapel, the priests celebrated a 
solemn mass in the chapel. The ciira was the preacher 
of the day. He took for his text the words' of the prodigal son. 
Me Lvaniare e ire a vii padre (" I will arise and go to my 
father"). The effect of his earnest and eloquent words was 
manifest in the faces of his hearers. Many were moved to 
tears. After the discourse, the multitude scattered about the 
hill in groups for refreshments ; it was pleasing to see so many 
family groups. All the people seemed happy ; they were not 
over-serious, but were free from levity and were remarkably 
quiet. 

At two o'clock the pilgrims gathered again about the chapel, 
where there was a most happy surprise awaiting them at the 
hands of the cura. He granted them the greatest favor in 
his power, and one that nobody had dared to ask, namely, to 
touch and to kiss the sacred image. The cura and priests took 
the image from the casket and placed it on a bier prepared for 
it. Gentlemen begged the privilege of being bearers. The bier 
was placed in front of the sanctuary, and there it was permitted 
to as many as could reach it to touch and kiss the feet of the 
image. All could not do so, but hundreds gratified their holy 
desire. The time for departure approaching, the cura took 
the image in his arms and stepping upon a platform showed 
it to the multitude as a sign of blessing. This act deeply 
impressed everybody, and many were moved to tears and sobs. 

1S7 



The cura then dismissed the ]Mlgrims with his benediclion, and 
ihey left the slirine with every sign of satisfaction and happiness. 
It was a day of a hfetime to many, no doubt, and children's 
children will hear of this notable pilgrimage to Sacro Monte in 
August, 1892. 




188 




CHURCH OF GUADALUPE. 




XII. 

'They say miracles are past." 

AWs Well That Ends 



Well. 



" The great world's altar stairs 
That slope through darkness up to God." 

/n A/eworiam. 

^ER the northern causeway devout pilgrims 
from Tenochtitlan, in 892, went to the 
sacred hill Tepeyacac ; over nearly the 
J ,^ same ground to the same place, now 
"" known as Guadalupe, do pilgrims and 
strangers make their journey in 1892. 
On this hill there was, a thousand 
years ago, a sanctuary dedicated to 
the deity called sometimes "Mother 
of the Gods," sometimes "Goddess 
of Corn," and sometimes "The Fruit- 
bearer." The Spaniards destroyed 
the sanctuary and also the causeway, 
^ but the natives continued to worship 
their images there. The devoted 
It "> /^"^ '"'"'^ missionaries lamented this, and in due 
time, here, as at Quer^taro, they substituted a new object of 
worship for the old; "in the place of the heathen Mother of 




Gods was put the Christian God -mother." A Spanish historian 
tells the miraculous tale of how the change was accomplished to 
the satisfaction of all concerned. 

On Dec. 9, 1531, Saturday, an Indian, Juan Diego by 
name, when going to mass heard the angels singing as he 
passed this hill. A glorious Lady called him and told him to go 
to the bishop and say that she wished to have a temple built 
where she was standing. Juan delivered the message, but the 
bishop desired further e\idence of the truth of the Indian's 
story. Juan returned to the hill and reijorted what the bishop 
said. The Lady told the Indian to come again. He came 
the next day, Sunday, the loth, and a second time she sent him 
with the same message to the bishop, who told Juan to bring 
some voucher from the Lady. Juan reported again, and the 
Lady told him to come to her the next day, and she would 
give him all the proof he needed to convince the bishop. 
When Juan arrived home he found there his uncle very sick ; he 
gave his whole attention to him and did not return to the Lady 
the next day. The sick man grew worse, and Juan started on the 
morning of the 12th to call a priest, and he tried to avoid 
another meeting with the Lady by going to town by a path on the 
other side of the hill. But he did not escape. The Lady stopped 
him. He said he was in a hurry, going for a confessor for his 
dying uncle. She told him that he need not worry about his 
uncle, for he had recovered his health, and then she commanded 
him to gather the flowers at his feet. Lo ! there were flowers 
on the barren spot where nothing green had ever grown before. 
" Take these flowers to the bishop," she said, " they are the 
sign of my divinity." Juan took the flowers in his /i/z/ia (or 
blanket) and carried them to the bishop's house. When he 
opened the blanket to show the flowers, behold there a])peared 
on it a beautifully painted image of the Virgin ! What further 
sign could the bishop ask? Verily this was the Virgin, the Holy 
Mary, and she it was who wished to have a chapel built at the 

190 



hill where the Mother of the (lods had been worshipped ! If 
the bishop was convinced, what of the Indian? The sing- 
ing of angels, the vision and the voice of the Lady, the 
flowers blooming on a rock, and the image on his tilma! (was 
ever Indian blanket or canvas of artist so glorified?) and his 
uncle restored to health ! Could an Indian resist such over- 
whelming evidences? Verily this is a true divinity, and hence- 
forth she shall be worshipped at Tepeyacac. The bishop kept 
the tilma of Juan Diego, on which 
was the miraculous painting, in his 
oratory till he had built a chapel 
for the Lady, and then he placed 
the holy image there February 7, 

1533- 

"A remarkable story," said the 
Captain, " but why the name Gua- ^ 




dalupe? " 

"Ah, the bishop saw that the 
painting was a copy of the sacred '\ 
image of Seiiora de Guadalupe, the 
Virgin of a village in Spain, famous 
in church annals." 

"And was the Indian converted?" 
asked the Corporal. .,,.»...».- 

" Yes ; he and his wife and his uncle, all three, and, of course, 
in time everybody worshipped here the new divinity." 

"What and where is this painting or image now?" asked the 
Captain. 

"We are on our way to see it. It is a painting on a coarse 
canvas, about six feet long and three feet wide. Whether it is 
an oil painting or a water color cannot be determined. Artists 
who have examined it differ in their beliefs as to the method of 
making the picture." 

"Can we see it?" asked the CorporaL 



191 



"Certainly; it is in a frame of gold and silver inside a glass 
case, which is placed in the tabernacle of the big church at the 
foot of the hill, called the church of Nuestra Senora de Guada- 
lupe. This church took the place of the little chapel which the 
bishop built. Well, here we are at the end of the track, and 
in front of the church. We will go and see the tilma and its 
magnificent residence, and then visit two or three other points 
of interest here. This is an important place for a little one." 




"Why, this is a magnificent cathedral!" said the Captain, 
when they had entered it. " I think it is finer than the great 
one in the city." 

" It shows better having so fine a light, and the white and 
gold finishing makes it very attractive to the eye." 



192 



"There is the filma," said the Major, pointing to the beautiful 
tabernacle of Carrara marble. " Look at it carefully, for that 
picture is no more notable in the church than it is in the 
political history of Mexico. You may see here how an institu- 
tion grows with time. The story of the appearance being be- 
lieved, this Virgin soon became the object of the greatest 
veneration, most of all to the 
Indians, who on every 12th 
of December, for over three 
hundred and fifty years, have 
come by the thousands to this 
shrine to worship. A hun- 
dred years after its establish- 
ment the pope granted that 
that day should be forever, in 
the church calendar, the festi- 
val of the Virgin of Mexico. 
A hundred years later still the 
clergy and people solemnly 
chose her as the patroness 
and protector of the country. 
In 1754, the pope confirmed 

the people's choice, and this gave the Virgin of 
Guadalupe the highest place in the church calendar 
in New Spain. When Hidalgo started on his cam- 
paign against the Royalists in 18 10, he took for his 
banner a picture of this Virgin from the little church 
at Atotonilco. The patriots rallied under that ban- 
ner, and so the Virgin became the patroness of independence. 
She was now regarded as peculiarly the champion of Mexico 
against Spain, and when independence was gained she was ac- 
corded all possible devotion for her divine assistance. She 
became now to the new nation the savior of Mexico. Congress, 
among its first acts, made the festival of Dec. 12a national holi- 




193 



day. Emperor Yturbide created, as highest decoration of his 
court, the Order of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The first Presi- 
dent of the RepubHc changed his name to Guadalupe Victoria. 
The Emperor Maximilian and several of the Presidents have 
made official pilgrimages to this shrine. From this you can 
see how it is that this has come to be ' the holiest shrine in 
Mexico.'" 

Passing out of the church and through the market place, the 
party now went to the " chapel of the little well " (Capilla del 
Pocito). This is a small but handsome building with an enam- 
elled tile roof which makes it an important feature of the view 
from the hill above. In the vestibule of the chapel is a spring 
greatly venerated by the Indians, for they believe that this 
spring was created by the pressure of the Virgin's foot as she 
emphasized her message to the bishop. There is an iron railing 
and a covering protecting the spring, but the chained bucket is 
in constant use by residents and visitors in drawing water, much 
of which is taken to distant parts. Many American visitors take 
or send home some of it. The chapel is well lighted and has, 
therefore, a cheerful appearance. An image of Juan Diego sup- 
ports the beautiful carved pulpit, and f^iir pictures adorn the 
walls and dome. 

The ascent to the "chapel of the little hill" (Capilla del Cer- 
rito) begins near the door of this "chapel of the little well." A 
long flight of stone steps leads to the summit on which the 
chapel stands, on the spot where the Indian gathered the flowers. 

As the party approached the top, the Corjioral exclaimed, 
"What in the world is that? a ship up iierc on the hill?" 

" It does look like it, doesn't it? " 

" It really docs," said the Captain. " I saw that from below 
and wondered at it, but forgot to ask about it. I'n^m a distance 
it looks exactly like the mast of a shij) with sails set." 

"That is what it is intended to represent," said the Major. 
"It is a 7vfo, if you please. This huge mass of stone means 



194 



just what the little spUnter crosses in the cave and the crutches 
in the chapel mean. Somebody has been saved, and these are 
memorials of gratitude to the Virgin for deliverance. The story 
of this stone sail is that some sailors who were threatened with 
shipwreck prayed to this Virgin for preservation, and promised 
to bring the mast of their ship and set it up as evidence of her 
power and of their gratitude, if she would give them safe pas- 
sage. They reached the land, and here is their memorial." 

" Well, that is certainly a curious thing," said the Corporal. 

" I don't believe there is anything like it anywhere else," said 
the Captain. "I have never 
heard of such a monument." 

The chapel on the hill is 
not a very attractive build- 
ing without or within, but of 
course every one must visit 
it. The view from the plat- 
form in front of it is charm- 
ing. It includes, besides 
the village at the foot of 
the hill, a look over the city 
of Mexico, the Lake of Tex- 
coco, and the valley be- 
yond, ending, as every out- 
look from any eminence 
hereabout must end, in the 
snow-capped summits of the volcanoes. It is one of the notable 
views of the Valley of Mexico. 

"What are these women selling?" asked the Corporal, as the 
party came down the steps from the chapel. 

" Quesadillas, try some of them ; they are good. They are 
little tortillas, Indian corn sweet cakes. We shall come across 
some mud sellers pretty soon, and you can try Xhtix jabon." 

" Mud sellers ! What do you mean?" 




IN THE GROTTO. 



195 



" I mean exactly that. Not only is the water of the little 
well considered holy, but the earth about it is believed to have 
wonderful healing power. The natives eat it, and, of course, 
somebody will make what anybody will buy ; hence you can get, 
if you wish, little cakes of tierrita." 

" Not any for me, thanks, but these sweet cakes are fine." 

After visiting the little cave or grotto on the west side of the 
hill, where is a curious display of broken glass and china in 
mosaics, the party took a stroll through the pretty park in the 
plaza, went to the old convent near the chapel of the well, took 
a peep into the windowless stone cells where the Capuchin nuns 
used to sleep on benches of stone, and returned to the city, 
where they visited some schools. 

On the way the Corporal said, " We shall be too late, I am 
afraid. It is now nearly four o'clock." 

" Time enough," said the Major. " The schools here are in 
session until dark." 



A ^ 




196 



XIII. 



c 



" Not once or twice in our rough island story 
The path of duty was the way to glory." 

Ode on the death of the Duke of Wellington. 

HAPULTEPEC to-day ! " exclaimed the Captain. 
" I expect a treat." 

" You will not be disappointed. It is all your 
fancy has painted it, and more," said the Major. 
Unless one wishes the ride through the Paseo, 
no carriage is needed for 
the trip to Chapultepec, as 
the Tacubaya and San An- 
gel street cars pass one of 
the entrances to the park, 
and the visitor should walk 
rather than ride through 
, ^^^^^se^ the grove of cypresses if 
■f i] Tt^TiUfiili^'^'' he wishes to get the finest 
views. Afternoon is the 
best time to go to the hill, but the view from it is lovely at any 
time. The park is open daily between 5 a. m. and 7 p. m., but 
a permit is necessary for admittance to the castle. This permit 
may be obtained at the office of the " Governor of the Palace " 
in the National Palace. Chapultepec (the hill of the grass- 
hopper) is a bold projection of porphyry, rising about two 
hundred feet above the valley. It was once an island in Lake 
Texcoco, but is fully four miles from the present shore. The 
Aztecs, who gave it the name which it now bears, occupied it in 




197 



i279> ^vcre driven from it by a neighboring tribe, but later 
regained it and built a temple on its summit. Some of the 
princes had their effigies carved on the rocks ; a part of one cati 
still be seen on the eastern base of the hill. On the south side 
is a large spring which is the water supply of part of the city. 
On the north side near the driveway to the castle is a large 
cave, which was the sanctuary of Malintzin, the spirit of the 
murmuring spring. The cave is said to be connected with the 
castle by a passage. The driveway winds round the western 




end ui the liill and terminates on the south side at the entrance 
to the castle grounds. There is the West Point of Mexico, the 
National Military School. 

"This is the pride of young Mexico I suppose," saiil the 
Captain, as he saw some of the handsome and handsomely 
uniformed cadets. 

" Yes, and the pride of the whole nation. There are about 
three hundred young soldiers here." 

" A lot of fine fellows in a fine place," added the Corporal. 



19S 



" Yes, and they are ready to fight at any moment in defence 
of their country, as were their predecessors in 1847. At the foot 
of the hill is a beautiful memorial to the cadets who fell in battle 
at the storming of Chapultepec. The students make the anni- 
versary of the battle a memorial day, and the President places a 
wreath on the monument. The cadets and the nation are justly 
proud of the record of its young soldiers." 

"Has Mexico much of an army?" asked the Captain. 




"About thirty thousand men and about three thousand officers, 
all told. It includes thirty battalions of infantry, fourteen regi- 
ments of cavalry, four battalions of artillery, and other organiza- 
tions, the most notable of which is the corps of gendarmes, 
known as the ' Rurales.' This is the finest body of horse- 
men in the world. It consists of about two thousand men, the 
best riders in Mexico, and on the annual display of troops at 
the celebration of independence the 'Rurales' are the chief 



199 



aitraction of the parade. They are handsomely mounted on 
spirited horses and wear a tawny leather suit with the tall gray 
felt sombrero, both properly ornamented with silver. There is 
nothing like the * Rurales ' outside of Mexico. Besides the active 
army there are about one hundred thousand reserves ready for 
an emergency, which, let us hope, will not occur soon." 

"What about the navy?" asked the Corporal. 

"The Mexican navy is not formidable, my boy, for the whole 
fleet comprises only six vessels : four of these are small gun- 
boats and two are unarmored vessels of four hundred and fifty 
tons and six hundred horse-power. It may interest you to know, 
however, that the army and navy of Mexico cost about twelve 
million dollars a year, nearly one third of the total revenue of 
the government." 

" Beautiful front, this is really a palace," exclaimed the Cor- 
poral. "What is that firing on the left? Is some one storming 
Chapultepec? " 

"Oh, that is target practice, I presume! What a splendid 
parade ground ! Ves, this is really a palace, dating from 1785." 

"Where does the President live?" asked the Captain. 

"The eastern end of the castle is his resilience pait of the 
year. Isn't this a magnificent establishment? 

" Can we get into the big White House ? " asked the Corporal. 

" Ves, we have a pass, and we were lucky to get it. Very 
often visitors can get no farther than the gate, because of repairs. 
It seems as if they were making repairs here three fourths of the 
time." 

" Well this is beautiful and no mistake !" exclaimed the Cap- 
tain, as the party went through the arcade and the garden, jjast 
the fountain out to the north terrace. 

"This modern work is due to Maximilian," said the Major. 
"Notice the Pompeiian style. What beautiful marble ! This is 
fine enough for a king ! What a royal retreat ! It has been a 
home of rulers for more than six hundred years." 



" Please tell us something about the President." 
"Porfirio Diaz was born in Oaxaca in 1830. His ancestors 
were Spaniards, who came to Mexico in 15 21. The grandfather 
of his mother married an Indian woman, and thus he represents 
in his person to some degree the Spanish and the Indian races. 
His father died in 1833, leaving his mother with five children 
and very little property. The boy was trained for the church ; 
he was a student for five years in the seminary, and graduated 
from it at the age of nineteen. He did not, however, take 
orders, but, to the great grief of the bishop and the greater 
sorrow of his mother, he decided to become a lawyer rather than 
a priest. When a student in the seminary he and his mates had 
volunteered in 1847, and. asked to be sent to the front to fight 
the invading foe under Gen. Scott. In the disturbed times 
between 1849 and 1859 he was frequently in battle, and attained 
to the rank of colonel. He was sent to Congress in i860, but 
left for the field again, where he was first victor and then prisoner, 
now captive and then conqueror, in the next two or three years ; 
but finally gained lasting renown and the highest rank in the 
army by the capture of Puebla and the French army in 1867. 
The French were driven from Mexico, and Juarez resumed his 
office in the capital as a result of this great victory. Gen. 
Diaz resigned his command, returned to Oaxaca, married Sra. 
Delfina Ortega y Reyes, and spent some time in retirement at 
his. Hacienda La Noria. He was again elected to Congress 
from Oaxaca. 

"When Juarez died in 1872, Lerdo was elected President, but 
Gen. Diaz became the leader of the opposition to Lerdo, and 
after a series of romantic and remarkable experiences, drove 
Lerdo from power and became President in 1877. His first term 
ended in 1880, during which year he lost his wife. Gen. Gonza- 
lez was President from 1880-84, when Gen. Diaz was re-elected, 
and has been President ever since that time, having been re- 
elected in 1892 for another term of four years. He married in 



iSS2 his present wife, Carmen Romero Rubio, daughter of liiw 
Secretary of the Interior in his Cabinet. She is the pet of the 
people and the pride of Mexico as well as of the President. 

"(len. Diaz is a wise ruler and a patriot, whose ambition is 
to serve his country well. Mexico has been regenerated and 
reinstated among the nations of the earth under his sagacious 
and firm leadership. His administration has been and is re- 
markable for its energy and honesty. He well deserves the 
honors which his people have so repeatedly awarded him. 
Mexico seems to believe, with Robert Browning, that ' He who 
did well in war earned the right to begin (and continue) doing 
well in peace.' Long live President Diaz ! " 

" He has a fine record," said the Captain. " I don't wonder 
the people want to keep him in charge of the country." 

" Take in this view, boys. I will point out some of the places 
that we can see. Away in the northeast is the sacred hill of 
Guadalupe, with its little chapel on the summit. There is the 
long aqueduct. How they build things to stay in this country ! 
Those nine hundred arches were put up in 1607, and there they 
are yet." 

" Isn't there another aqueduct on the other side of the 
castle?" asked the Captain. 

" Yes, that conveys the water from the great spring just at the 
foot of this hill. It was comi)leted in 1779 by that best of all 
the viceroys, lUicareli, whose tomb we saw at Guailalupe. If all 
the viceroys had l)con like him, Mexico would never have had 
any reason to rebel against Sj^anish rule." 

"These two aqueducts can't supply the city, can they? " said 
the Corporal. 

" No, not wholly. There are hundreds of artesian wells 
besides, and Mexico has good water. Yonder is Tacuba, 
where the Spaniards made a halt on the Noche Triste. Just 
north are the two very old places, Atzcapatzalco and Tlalncjiantla, 
once famous seats of royal power." 



202 



Crossing now to the south terrace, the Major continued, — 
"What a view this is ; see the chain of little towns along t'nc 
foot-hills ; this one nearest us is Tacubaya, sometimes called 
the city of the martyrs ; the martyrs being certain parties who 
lost their heads for taking the wrong side in politics. It is now 
a favorite place of summer residence for the wealthy families of 
Mexico." 

" I see," said the Captain, " that one guide-book says, 
' Tacubaya is known as the city of political martyrs, of gardens, 
and of gambling places.' " 




" That is a variety of attractions, isn't it? The martyrs are 
represented by a small monument ; the gardens are mostly 
hidden behind thick and high walls, and the gambling places 
are open to the public, but we don't want anything in that line, 
do we?" 

To the right you see on the summit of the hill the walls of 
the Panteon de Dolores, the largest cemetery in Mexico. It 



203 



belongs to the Federal District, comprises nearly two hundred 
and fifty acres, and is divided into six parts, in each of which 
the price of lots varies. The highest priced lots are those 
near the space reserved for distinguished men, the " Rotunda 
de los Hombres Ilustres." Some illustrious men are buried 
there, among them two Presidents, Arista and Lerdo. The 
grounds are amply shaded by pines, cedars, and eucalyptus 
trees. The cemetery was opened in 1875, and since that time 
more than one hundred thousand interments have been made 
there. 

Beyond Tacubaya south is a region given to gardening. You 
can see Mixcoac, the first village, and just west of it is La 
Castenada, a public garden and pleasure resort. Here they 
have mimic bull fights sometimes, no killing, but a good deal of 
bothering of the animal, plenty of pulque and mescal, and 
also plenty of gambling. 

Farther south, and eight miles from the city, is the 
^7 pretty village of San Angel on the side of the hills. 
p^t^'r^iia^. Orchards abound there ; for that is the region 
which supplies the city with most of its apples, 
peaches, apricots, and pears, and also its straw- 
berries. The flower market, too, gets a large part 
of its supply from San Angel and vicinity. 
"What is that place away beyond San Angel a little east? " 
asked the Captain ; " I see a train going down the valley towards 
it." 

" That is Tlalpam, eleven miles from Mexico. It was once 
the capital of the state of Mexico." 

" What is the capital of the state now?" 
" The city of Toluca, over the mountains west of us. You 
see a village exactly in line between us and Tlalpam, east of 
San Angel ? That is Coyoacan, and right close to it is Churubusco. 
You see that great hacienda building near the church? We will 
go down that way, taking two or three days for excursions about 

204 








IN TROPICAL MEXICO. 



that part of the valley, but I'll tell you something about it while 
we are looking it over from this hill. 

" Cortes lived at Coyoacan. All this section that we are 
looking at belonged to him once. You know Emperor Charles 
V. made him Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca, but Cort(§s took in 
a good share of the Valley of Mexico. Coyoacan is older than 
the city of Mexico, and was the seat of government for some 
time. The Marquis got rid of his wife there by drowning her 
in a well. Part of his palace is still used by the village govern- 
ment. It occupies the north side I of the plaza. No section 
of the valley is so attractive as this 
Churubusco. It is one continuous 
garden, and many of the best fami- 
lies of the city own or rent 

J •sir j| 

summer places there." Jf^^ . 



between San Angel and 




HOME OF CORTES. 



" What is that solitary hill away to our left, east of Coyoacan ? 
It is a little beauty." 

" That, my boy, is the hill which you enjoyed so much the 
day we went to Ixtapalapa ; that is the ' Hill of the Star.' You 
know I told you that Cuauhtemoc was living there when Cortes 
came, but I don't think I told you that he was an exile there. 
Montezuma, his uncle, banished him for political reasons. The 
prince wished to drive out the Spaniards, but Montezuma seems 
to have been the victim of superstition, and feared that he 



205 



would offend the gods by opposing the white visitors. At hist 
Montezuma was deposed and Cuauhtemoc attempted to save the 
empire, but it was too late. Cuauhtemoc was, like Cato, — 

" A brave man struggling in the storms of fate, 
And greatly falling with a failing state." 

It was at Coyoacan that Cortes tortured and killed •' the 
tzin,' and his comjjanion whose name appears on the beautiful 
monument in the Paseo. You can see the lava bed just south 

of Coyoacan," continued the 
Major ; " it is called the Pcdre- 
gal (the stony place). By some 
convulsion the lava has been 
projected at that point into the 
valley ; it is said that pieces of 
pottery and also human bones 
have been found enclosed in 
the lava. The basaltic blocks 
from which the Calendar Stone 
and the Sacrificial Stone are 
hewn came from this locality. 
It is an interesting point to 
visit." 

" Cireat view this from the 
south terrace," said the Cor- 
poral. " It is prettier than that 
from the north side." 

" Perhaps it is," replied the 
Major, " but we have looked at distant things so much that we 
have almost forgotten the things close by. Look at these great 
trees. They are among the wonders of Mexico ; they are what 
we call the cypress tree. The Indian name, however, is Ahue- 
hnete, or Sabino ; it grows very large, as you see. There is an 
immense one in this grove called Montezuma's tree ; it is a 




206 



double growth, a kind of twin tree. Humboldt tells of one that 
he measured in 1804; it was one hundred and seventy feet in 
circumference. The moss and the orchids which are often seen 
upon these trees give them a strangely beautiful appearance. At 
the foot of this stairway there is a little zoological garden which 
we will look into ; Montezuma's spring and the monument of the 
cadets are near by." 

"And is there still another view to get from Chapultepec? " 
asked the Corporal. 

"Yes, the best one of all. You haven't seen the city of 
Mexico yet, have you? nor the volcanoes I believe, nor the 
lakes ? We take in nearly all we have already seen, and those 
crowning beauties besides, from the eastern terrace." 

And so the boys found it. At the foot of the precipitous hill, 
on the brow of which the eastern end of the palace stands, and 
immediately in front, the grand Paseo commences. On either 
side at some little distance are two calzadas, or driveways, 
marked, like the Paseo, by continuous avenues of trees ; on the 
north the Calzada de la Veronica, with the ancient aqueduct of 
Santa F6 ; on the south the Calzada de Chapultepec, with the 
great aqueduct from the water works just below the castle. 
Yonder is the gray city, gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. 
The Alameda and the Plaza Mayor look like little meadows in 
the distance, and the great Cathedral towers stand out against 
the background of lake and mountain like sentinels on guard. 
Above the valley the snow-covered peaks pierce the sky, and 
dominate the landscape. 

"This is a wonderful sight ! " said the Captain. 

" If I had seen nothing but this," added the Corporal, " I 
should say it is worth a trip from Boston to see." 

" It certainly is. I think you will agree that Bayard Taylor, 
who had looked upon most of the wonderful sights of three con- 
tinents, was about right when he said that this is 'one of the 
loveliest scenes in the civilized world.' " 



207 



XIV. 



" Oh, the pleasure travel brings I " 

"Jean de Paris. 

" Survey our empire, and behold our home, 
These are our realms, no limit to their sway." 

T/m Corsair. 

JOURNEYS to more distant places must now be made, 
and we will indicate briefly a few of those which no 
visitor to Mexico should omit. On the National Rail- 
way, two points especially demand attention, Lake 
^^ Patzcuaro and Toluca. The lake is two hun 
3*S dred and twenty-five miles from the city 

of Mexico, but is worth going to see. 
Toluca is only forty- six miles away, 
and the excursion to this pretty city, 
the capital of the state of Mexico, re- 
quires but one day. The scenery 
;.7: 1 iJjlitT(i1|tlj|!!!|!!!! a.long the way is as fine as any in 
Mexico. The passenger over the Si- 
erra de las Cruces reaches an elevation of ten thousand five 
hundred and fifty-one feet on the continental divide. 

Puebla must, of course, be visited. The Interoceanic Railway 
reaches the city by way of Texcoco, a pretty village which 
stands on the site of the royal residence of Prince Netzahual- 
coyotl, the Aztec Pericles whose capital has been aptly named 
" the Athens of America." At Texcoco the "fleet" of Cortt-s 
was launched, and here the bones of the con(]ueror rested for 
seventy years. Ruins of palaces, temples, and aqueducts are 




. ^-^ .-xie^^ 



208 




encountered here, and the vicinity is a paradise for the anti- 
quarian. 

Puebla is a charming city of eighty thousand population. It 
has one of the finest cathedrals in Mexico, and no other town 
can present such splendid views as are here offered by the 

Hill of Guadalupe, which is 
itself historic ground. Here 
occurred the famous repulse 
of the French by Gen. Zara- 
goza in 1862, and the more 
famous battle of 1867, in 
which Gen. Diaz captured a 
French army and sealed the 
doom of Maximilian. 

Eight miles west of Puebla 
is the wonderful pyramid of Cholula, on which stood the temple 
of Quetzalcoatl, "God of the Air." This was an Indian Mecca 
when the Spaniard came to the "world wrongly called the New." 
About twenty miles north of Puebla is Tlaxcala, in the valley 
of the Atoyac, capital of the Rhode Island of Mexico, the state 
of Tlaxcala. In the City Hall are portraits 
of the four chiefs who assisted 
Cortes in his campaign of con- 
quest, also the robes in which 
they were baptized and the 
standard which was given 
to them by Cortes. In 
the chapel of the church 
of San Francisco (founded 
in 15 21) on a pulpit is the 
interesting inscription, "Aqui 
tubo principio el Santo Evangelio 

en este nuevo mundo" (Here the Holy Gospel had a beginning 
in the New World). A mile from the town is the famous shrine 




209 



of " Our l^dy of Ocotlan," where some very remarkable carving 
by an Indian sculptor may be seen. At Tlaxcala were built the 
boats which were launched at Texcoco, and which were an im- 
portant factor in the conquest of Mexico. 

Pyramids more remarkable than the one at Cholula may be 
seen at San Juan Teotihuacan, on the Mexican Railway, about 
tliirty miles northwest of the city of Mexico. A day's excur- 
sion will enable one to visit the Pyramids of the Sun and of the 
Moon, and also to get a glimpse of the most important enter- 
prise of modern times in the country, the Tequizquiac tunnel 








rVKAMins ANH sri;i:i;r "F mi; iiK\i>. 

for drainage of the valley. Many of the relics of the olden 
time in the National Museum came from the region about 
Teotihuacan. 

Jalapa is well worth a visit. It was an old town before the 
conquest, and, until Puebla was built, the only place of note 
between the coast and the capital. Here was held the great 
annual fair for the sale of the goods brought by the Spanish 
fleet, Jalajia is a rare old place on the mountain-side, from 
which one of the finest views of Orizaba can be obtained. The 



scenery along the line of the Interoceanic road to Jalapa is very 
fine, as is that also between Jalapa and Vera Cruz. 

Coatepec, a little village six miles away, at the base of Ori- 
zaba, apparently, is reached by tramway from Jalapa. Both the 
town and the road " must be seen to be appreciated " ; they are 




unique. Coatepec is noted for its fine coffee, its delicious 
oranges, pineapples, and bananas. The visitor sees at a glance 
the most beautiful tropical verdure, and the mountain peak 
forever white with snow. 

Another novel excursion can be taken from Jalapa to Tejeria, 
seventy miles away, over the longest tramway in the world, that 
which connects the city with the Vera Cruz Railroad. It is 
better, however, for the tourist to go only to Rinconada, forty 
miles by tramway, and returning to 
Jalapa, make his journey to Vera 
Cruz over the Interoceanic road. _ 

The mules gayly gallop ten miles r^^^^-^-'^-- ^'^^ lJjUUii..^r^ri 
an hour, and the journey is a de- 
lightful one. Of all the excursions I 

have made in Mexico, I enjoyed none more than that from Jalapa 
to Rinconada and return. Bill Nye's senatorial mules " Eyether 




and Neyether, Peter and Repeater," are no more worthy of 
l)rai.se than the Httle animals that i)ly between Jalapa and Tejeria. 
'I'he road runs through beautiful scenery over the old highway 
from the coast which, historically, is one of the famous highways 
of the world. 

Vera Cruz, or Villa rica dc la Santa Vera Cruz, as Cortes 
named it, is just where he founded it in 1519, but it has been 
moved three times. A royal order in 1600 restored it to its 
original site. It is a city of about i 2,000 population ; it has a 
charming plaza, and a luxuriant Alameda, which are thronged at 
certain hours. Excursions by boat (weather permitting) may be 
made to the fortress San Juan de Ulua. The parish church, the 
lighthouse " Benito Juarez," which is the tower of San Francisco 
church, and the buzzards attract the attention of visitors. 

The zopiloles, or vultures, or buzzards, are the scavengers of 
the municipality, and a more efficient street-cleaning department 
cannot be found in any city. 

Between A'era Cruz and Esperanza on the Mexican Railway is 
some of the finest scenery in the world. The plain for forty 
miles offers nothing attractive except the view of Orizaba in the 
distance. Above Paso del Macho we meet picturesque scenery 
where brilliant orchids illuminate the trees festooned with moss, 
and where the landscape is variegated by fields of bright green 
sugar-cane and by groves of dark green coffee plants. Follow- 
ing up the Atoyac, we cross massive bridges and wind round 
cafions luxuriant in tropical vegetation ; banana gardens and 
orange orchards abound. At C6rdoba, sixty miles from the 
gulf, we reach the spot where the finest fruit of Mexico is offered 
us at the station; baskets of guavas, pinas (pineapples), bana- 
nas, oranges, pomegranates, and chirimoyas, " the fruit of the 
angels." Next we go through and across the wonderful Metlac 
canon on a marvellous iron bridge three hundred and fifty feet 
long and ninety-two feet above the stream. This bridge is built 
upon a curve of three hundred and twenty-five feet radius, and 



212 



the grade of the road on the bridge is three per cent. At an 
elevation of four thousand feet we come to Orizaba, a favorite 
summer and winter resort, noted for its fine climate and 
beautiful scenery. The name signifies "joy in the water," and 
the numerous cascades hereabout show that it is a descriptive 
and appropriate name. 

Leaving Orizaba we run up the Rio Blanco, and crossing sev- 
eral small streams, and passing through several tunnels, come 
to one of the most remarkable points on this or on any rail- 
way line, the Barranca del Infernillo (the Ravine of the Little 




Hell). Along the very edge of this gorge the track runs for 
some distance, and from the car window the passenger can see 
the foaming water rushing in its self-hewn canal, fully six hun- 
dred feet below him. This caiion affords a passageway to the 
beautiful valley of La Joya (The Jewel) , where reposes the pretty 
village of Maltrata, which, like its larger sister, Orizaba, revels in 
red-tiled roofs. From the station at Maltrata, look across the 
valley and far up on the mountain-side ! See that trail of white 



213 



along the slope ! that is the rock face on the upper side of our 
road. Soon we shall be away up there looking down on this little 
village and this lovely valley ; we shall have a veritable bird's-eye 
view of Maltrata as we soar above it fully two thousand feet. The 
train now climbs by long detours, by sharp grades and many 
curves, and in a short time we are on the heights overlooking 
the village and the valley, ^\'hat a view 1 AVonderful achieve- 
ment of man to carry a line of railway uj) such steeps and over 
such yawning chasms. 

" If anything in Mexico is worth going to see, this is the thing," 
exclaimed the Captain, as they looked down on the valley and 
the village of Maltrata. " I think that if I could make but one 
excursion from the city of Mexico, that one should be the trip 
to Paso del Macho and return." 

"Vou would make no mistake in that choice," said the Major. 










i.jI. ^a.^-.!t.^^-.a.jj'^^ 




^^^^s-ry^M 




214 



XV. 



" I am sure care 's an enemy to life." 

Tvielfth Night. 

" Poco a poco se va lejos." 

Proverd. 

RAPIDLY the time allotted for the summer excursion 
I passed, and the party began their return trip. They had 
now visited the chief cities and towns in the Republic, 
with the exception of Pachuca, Gaudalajara, Gauna- 
/pej juato, San Luis Potosi, and Tampico. Gauda- 
j^.\J /^ lajara and Guanajuato are reached only by 

the Mexican Central Railway. The Pachuca 
branch leaves the main line at Tula. 

Pachuca has an elevation of eight thou- 
sand feet, and Hes in a basin around which 
y:-^.' "se lofty mountains noted for their veins 
"^ * " of silver. The Aztecs mined here and 

the Spaniards began work on the veins in 1520. In Cerro San 
Juan, north of the city, is the deepest shaft in Mexico, 1,645 ^^^t- 
The streets of the town are narrow and steep. One of the sights 
is the transportation of ore from the mines to the reduction 
works or to trains for shipment. It is not a pleasant sight, 
however, for one cannot but feel sorry for the poor animals. 
Between the work of pulling great loads up sharp 
grades, and the pounding by the drivers, they must 
suffer all that it is possible for mules to endure. 

There are a few fine buildings in the town, 
but they are not worth going to see. Even the 



21S 





churches have an appearance of being neglected, and the old 
missionary college has become a school of mining. From Pa- 
chuca se\eral interesting excursions may be made amid beautiful 
and bold scenery. The canon of Regla, a basaltic formation, is 
one of the wonders of Mexico, but the average tourist will be 
satisfied with a trip to Real del Monte, which can be made in a 
carriage. A pass from the administrador is necessary if the 
visitor wishes to see the ecjuipment of the mines of the Real del 
Monte Company. 

As they were going to get their pass, the party saw from a 
bridge, men, women, and children wading and working in a 
muddy stream with pans, and scooping something from the bed 
of the stream. 

" ^Vhat are they looking for? " asked the Captain. 

" Quicksilver, and that means silver too. This water comes 
through a patio above, and brings with it some bits of the 
amalgam from the reduction works. These poor people can 
sometimes find a few centavos' worth of silver in their pans." 

" That patio isn't like those we have seen, 1 suppose," said the 
Captain. 

" Not exactly, not a garden-like affair ; a patio is, literally, 
an enclosure ; this is a level floor enclosed for the treatment 
of ore. The ores are pulverized, spread on a stone floor, and 
mixed with water, salt, and ([uicksilver. In this rich mud mules 
are made to walk to and fro, and men are set to work with 
sticks and shovels, for the purpose of thoroughly mixing the 
mass. This method of extracting silver, which is generally in 
use in Mexico, is called 'the patio process'; it was invente i 
here in Pachuca by Medina in 1557. We will visit the Loreto 
amalgamating works and see the curious ojieration ; it seems to 
be a wasteful process and a cruel business both for men and 
mules." 

Obtaining the pass frcjm the administrador, the jjarty started 
off in a light two-seated carriage. The driver, uf course, was a 



2 16 



Mexican ; but as he was a driver of horses and not of mules, 
pounding was not a part of his profession. He was even gentle, 
and did his part to make the ride enjoyable. The road is one 
of the very best in the country, though now it is not in as good 
a state of repair as it might be. It must have cost a mint of 
money, but it was built to serve mines which have produced 
mints of silver. The Trinidad mine is said to have turned out 
more than forty millions of dollars in ten years. The road 
was built when all the mines were making plenty of money, 
and will remain a fairly good road for years without much work 
on it. 

As the ascent is made the view over the valley widens. 
First, we have a bird's-eye view of the city, lying at the foot of 
the mountain ; we can look directly down into the patio of a 
reduction works and see the men and mules stirring the rich 
silver pudding. Across a deep valley on the sides or the summits 
of hills we see several fort-like establishments on mines, and the 
white winding roads leading to them. Some of these roads rival 
in cost that over which we are riding to the Real. On the way 
up we pass many heavily loaded carts, which puUing mules and 

pushing men are toiling to get to the summit. 

We also meet trains coming down, and the de- 
scent does not seem very much easier for the 
animals than the ascent. 
Some curious vehi- 





cles attract our attention. A single burro is dragging an enor- 
mous stick of timber to town ; one end of the stick resting on a 
little cart, the wheels of which are only circular pieces of plank 
about a foot in diameter. We see many of these little burro 



217 



teams, each accomjjanled \)y a man, a woman, a child, and 
generally a dog. The whole family seems to be going to town 
with each stick of timber. 

At last the summit of the mountain is reached, and a new 
vegetation appears as we descend the other side into Real del 
Monte. Nowhere in Mexico is a transition more sudden or sur- 
prising. It is explained by the fact that the eastern side of the 
mountains gets the moisture from the gulf breezes, and on those 
sides vegetation luxuriates, while on the 
western sides it languishes and loses its 
life for want of water. The transition is 
a most delightful one. The view from 
the summit is superb ; behind, before, 
and on both sides are mountains and 
valleys. The elevation of more ^han 
nine thousand feet opens out a prospect 
in every direction which cannot be de- 
scribed. Right below is the quaint little 
Milage of Real del Monte, most of the 
inhabitants of which are Cornish miners 
and their families. On the hillsides are 
cultivated fields and flourishing gardens. 
Flowers abound, and the verdure of the 

MILKMAN. . . ^ ui .. .L 

region is most agreeable to the eye. 

From the pretty little plaza in the village we have to make a 
sharp climb to the promontory on which stands the great Mae- 
stranza containing the powerful machinery which operates the 
pumps and hoisting works of the Real del Monte Company. 
Here is one of the largest wheels in the world, about fifty feet 
in diameter, and here too is one of the longest pump-rods in the 
world, a plunger sixteen hundred feet in length ! 

The water is not pumped to the surface, but to a tunnel about 
four hundred feet below the summit, and through that discharged 
into the valley. There are more than fifty miles of drifts and 




218 



tunnels in the Real district. This single pump hoists the water 
which drains from a dozen mines. 

" This is your chance, Captain, to go down into a mine," said 
the Major. 

" No, thanks," said the boy, who had just seen one of the 
miners come up, dripping and shivering with cold on a car-load 
of ore. " I'll choose a dry mine when I go down, and I think 
I'll take one not quite so deep. Six hundred feet will be enough 
for me ; never mind the other thousand." 

On the way back to the village the boys were greatly interested 
in the groups of women waiting with lunches for the miners 
about the various shafts, and in seeing many of the men come out 
from their cells under the mountain. The ride to Pachuca was 
quite as enjoyable as that to Real del Monte. A visit to one of 
the great amalgamating works occupied the remainder of the 
day, and the party duly arrived at Tula ready to resume their 
journey northward to Irapuato, from which point they were to 
make a trip to the " Lake Region of Mexico," to the Falls of 
Juanacatlan, and to the city of Guadalajara. 




Bl'ENLS DIAS SENOR. 



2 19 




XVI. 

"Gems of the Sunlaml, never yet 
Were lake; in lovelier valleys set." 




^ ■~^^HE Guadalajara division of the Mexican Central 
I Railway, branching from the main line at Ira- 

\ I puato, runs through one of the most attractive 

^^ I and fertile sections of Mexico. Mention of 

^ I Like Chapala, of the Lerma River, and of the 

»_R -JL Niagara of Mexico will suggest the scenery 

which is awaiting the traveller, and a few figures as to 
the products of the region will convince any one of its 
fertility. The state of Jalisco produced, last year, more 
than eighteen million bushels of corn, more than three 
million bushels of wheat, and one million bushels of 
beans : a large part of this yield grew on lands which lie 
— in sight of the passenger over this (li\ision. 
Leaving Irapuato in the morning, the whole division is passed 
over by daylight ; the train arrives in Guadalajara before five 
o'clock in the afternoon." The first few stations are unimpor- 
tant. Passing Penjamo, a place of nine thousand pojiulation, 
and La Piedad about the same size, both centres of consider- 
able trade, we cross the Lerma and arrive at La Barca, a town of 









~>- 



C 




><^.. ^^'/.V 



f O t^ 



ten thousand population, and a place noted for its excellent 
oranges, and which was formerly the point of departure for the 
steamer on Lake Chapala. The passenger can see from the 
bridge over the Lerma the relics of the steamer "La Libertad," 
which was brought over the mountains, three hundred miles, 
from the Pacific, and launched on Lake Chapala. Part of her 
lies on the river bank at La Barca, and part of her is now running 
on the lake. 

Sixteen miles beyond La Barca we reach Ocotlan. This pretty 
place is on the little river Sula, a short distance above its junction 
with the Lerma. The station is connected with the town by 
street car which runs to the bridge just above the steamboat 
landing. 

Ocotlan is situated on a plain which slopes southward a few 
miles into the shore of the lake. With its pretty plaza, beautiful 




church spires, its portales, and its two bridges (one over the 
Sula, south of the village, and one west over the Lerma), Ocotlan 
is very picturesque. 

The water front of the city is on the Sula, just above the bridge. 
Here a novel sight is seen on the levee. No great steamers are 
moored there, but scores of great canoes are loading and unload- 








ing, or waiting fur the spirit of their captains to move. These 
canoes have hitherto done all the business on Lake Chapala. 

The water works of Ocotlan are not extensive, but such as 
they are, they can be seen at the bridge across the Lerma, over 
which passes the highway to Guadalajara. They consist of one 
large wheel and a pump. The wheel is on a frame under 

one of the arches of the bridge. 
The current of the river runs the 
wheel, and the wheel, of course, 
runs the pump. But rivers in 
this region rise and fall, and 
there are times when this wheel is si.x feet above the water. 
Whenever the current cannot reach the wheel, the people of 
Ocotlan get their water by carts and carriers. 

The steamer "Chapala" is a flat-bottom stern-wheel boat, 
very like those that are common on the shallow rivers of the 
West; the only boats adapted to shoal-water service. Every- 
thing about the steamer appears new, but one of the things not 
new on the " Chapala " is Juan Perez, the pilot. He is not neces- 
sarily old, but he is a veteran in ser- 
vice. He bears a good old name, a 
name historic, for it is the same as 
that of the good priest, who, in 149 1, 
brought Columbus to the notice of 
Queen Isabella. 

The reception committee of Ocot- 
lan has an unusually good place for 
observation ; it is the bridge above 
the wharf. There being plenty of 
room, the committee is large, both 
on arrival and departure of the boat, 
which is always announced by a pro- 
longed whistle. "All aboard — cast off"; and away we go. 
Down the little Sula, only a quarter of a mile, and we are in the 





channel of the Lerma ; rounding a sharp point on the left, we 
head up stream towards the lake, four or five miles away. 
"Nice turn, that, wasn't it? " said the Captain. 
" Yes, but if you want to see some fancy work in handling a 
steamboat, you want to see Juan bring this boat around that point 
the other way. Getting out of Ocotlan is not 
much of a trick, but getting in is something to 
talk about. Look out for this exhibition when 
we come back." 

In a few minutes they were in sight of the 
lake. From the upper deck the party 
took in the extended view. On the left 
the great lagunas or swamps east of the lake, green as a meadow 
in June, extend for miles ; directly ahead is the broken range 
of hills forming the southern shore, and to the right the bold 
Cerro Chiquihuitillo. Behind is the plain reaching away to the 
distant hills on the north, and from this beautiful plain rise the 
graceful white towers of Ocotlan church. 

" What a large lake ! " exclaimed the Corporal. 
"Yes, it is larger than some celebrated lakes, for instance, 
the Lake of Geneva ; that is only forty-five miles, and this is 
more than fifty miles long ; that is only nine, while this is eigh- 
teen miles wide. It is the largest lake in Mexico." 

" It must be pretty well up in the world, too," added 
the Captain. " What is its elevation? " 

" It is higher than the top of Mt. Washington. 
Chapala is nearly the highest navigable body of water 
on the globe, and now that it is so easily accessible it 
is destined to become a great pleasure resort for very 
many people. You can see how beautiful the surround- 
ings are ; the climate is all that can be desired, and everything 
about the lake is attractive to the lover of fine scenery. A 
day may be spent most pleasantly in an excursion about the 
lake." 




Mescala is the first landing-place ; not much to be seen here, 
the village itself being hidden in the trees on the hillside. 

Opposite the town lies the large island of Mescala. Here are 
the ruins of an ancient i)rison. Massive walls are still standing, 
and might be easily restored to service. This island ought to be 
utilized by the federal or state government in some way. 

The sail along the north shore from Mescala to the town of 
Chapala is delightful. We seem, at times, to be shut in, but the 
pilot finds a way out and duly brings us to a pretty little city 




llU.MK i;v lUl. ..H 



which nestles at the base of a sugar-loaf mountain, and which is 
the largest town on the lake. A fine old church is one of the 
attractions of the town for visitors, but the hot springs which boil 
up not far from the plaza have given Chapala fiime as a health 
resort. The springs, although not numerous, remind one of 
those at Aguas Calientes; they have made Chapala a favorite 



224 



resort of the people of Guadalajara and vicinity, and when better 
known will attract people from a greater distance. "Charming" 
is the word to describe Chapala ; I doubt if there is another town 
in Mexico more prettily situated. A short distance from shore is 
a large island, which is made use of as a picnic ground. The 
view from the hill immediately back of the town is one of great 
beauty. 

It is an interesting sight to see the water works of Chapala in 
operation. No wheels, no pumps, no fountains; only dippers. 
The lake is the reservoir, and women are the dippers. They 
wade out as far as they please, fill their jars as full as they please, 
shoulder them and march home. No scooping with gourds as 
at Zacatecas, for water is plenty, and no one has to wait for an- 
other. 

Chapala is sure to become more and more a favorite watering 
place. Already there are some fine summer " seaside " cottages 
there, and in the offing you can see a yacht ! With a combina- 
tion of delightful climate and hot springs, with mountain climb- 
ing, boating, bathing, and fishing as recreations for visitors, why 
shouldn't charming Chapala become the finest health and pleas- 
ure resort in Mexico? 

The next port is Xocotopec, at the extreme western end of 
the lake. The town lies in a pretty valley three miles back from 
the lake, and is the centre of an extensive rural trade. Return- 
ing along the south shore we find no towns of commercial impor- 
tance, but do find a succession of beautiful views which charm by 
their variety. We pass San Martin, San Cristobal, Tuscueca, and 
see, partly hidden by groves of orange and lemon trees, the flour- 
ishing city of Tizapan which reposes on the hillside two miles 
from the lake, along the little Rio de la Pasion. 

We sail over what is supposed to be an oil well, some signs of 
which appear on the surface of the lake ; we touch at the fisher- 
man's village with the pretty name. La Palma, and thence com- 
plete our eighty-mile circuit of Lake Chapala by a direct return 

225 



to Ocotlan, where we resume our railroad journey. Not far from 
the station we cross the river Lerma. Looking out of the win- 
dow on the left, the Corporal exclaimed, " There are the water 
works of Ocotlan again." 

" Yes, and how graceful the arches of that old bridge look 
from here ! " said the Captain. 

The Lerma is in sight from the train now most of the way for 
thirty miles. The ride along it is one of constant pleasure. 




One can easily imagine himself in New England if he will con- 
sider only the scenery. But the costumes and houses of the 
people, the haciendas and farm equipments, which constantly 
claim attention, remind one of nothing but Me.xico. 

A few words about the Lerma are in order here. It is called 
the Mississippi of Mexico, being the longest river in the country, 
it rises south of us, just east of Toluca, and after a course of four 
hundred and fifty miles empties into the Pacific Ocean at San 
Bias. It drains an immense territory. It passes through the 
northwest corner of Lake Chapala. Its course through the lake 
(in be distinctly traced by the color of its flood. Indeed some 
regard the lake as chiefly if not wholly a reservoir of the river, 
and so geographers give the same name to the river below the 



226 



lake as above. On some maps, however, the stream which leaves 
Lake Chapala is named Rio Grande de Santiago. It is nowhere 
navigable, except for a few miles near the lake. 

At Poncitlan, eleven miles from Ocotlan, is a beautiful bridge 
(seen on the right of the train) and some charming scenery. 
We are in the best wheat country of Jalisco now for a few miles. 

Atequiza, thirteen miles farther west, is a good station for 
any one to stop at who wishes to visit a great hacienda comforta- 
bly, and without a ride through the country. You can visit one 
here by rail. The station here, as is common along the whole 
line, takes its name from the great hacienda nearest. Atequiza 
is in sight, half a mile away on the left. This hacienda has miles 
of wheat fields, hundreds of oxen and other animals, and thou- 
sands of men at work on its farms or ranches. You see here the 




neadquarters of the vast estate ; here are storehouses, corrals, 
workmen's homes, mills, hospital, schoolhouse, and church, 
besides the princely residence of the owner. Some have thought 
this is the place called " Miraflores " in Christian Reid's beautiful 
story, "x\ Cast for Fortune," a tale of Mexican life in Jalisco. 

The hacienda has its own railroad and cars, connecting with 
the Mexican Central, and also a complete electric light plant. 



I 2 7 



From Atequiza one can go directly over the hill on the south to 
C!hapala on the lake, a fine ride of twenty miles. A day could 
be well spent in a visit to Atecpiiza and an excursion to Chapala. 
At i;i Castillo we change cars for a trip to the Niagara of 
Mexico. We cannot say of the Falls of Juanacatlan what 
Anthony TroUope said of Niagara, but we may say that no tourist 
can afford to pass by El Castillo and not go over the hills to the 
river, unless he prefers to ride to the falls from Guadalajara. 
What 'I'rollope said was this : " Of all the sights on this earth of 
ours, which tourists travel to see, I am inclined to give the palm 
to Niagara. In the catalogue of such sights I intend to include 
all buildings, pictures, statues, and wonders of art made by men's 
hands, and also all beauties of nature prepared by the Creator 
for the delight of his creatures. This is a long word, but as far 
as my taste and judgment go, it is justified. I know of no other 
one thing so beautiful, so glorious, and so powerful." Anything 
that suggests the falls " so beautiful, so glorious, so powerful," 
must be worth going to see. Juanacatlan does more than sug- 
gest, it resef/i/'/es Niagara. It is really a miniature of the mighty 
cataract. There is the crescent form, the little Luna-like island 
on the brink of the precipice, the Terrapin Rock where the 
old tower used to stand ; there are the rapids above and below ; 
the great gorge and the awful roar; all at Juanacatlan as at Niag- 
ara. I'he Lerma seems to be trying to pour all the waters of 
Lake Chapala, and of an area of forty thousand square miles, 
over the falls at once as does Niagara the waters of Erie and the 
upper lakes. The river here is five hundred ami sixty feet wide, 
and falls sixty- five feet in its single leap to a lower level. The 
mighty power of the falls is not allowed to go to waste ; it is util- 
ized by a great mill, but is to be still fiirther employed by an elec- 
tric light plant for the benefit of Guadalajara, fifteen miles distant. 
Here again is a likeness to Niagara, for the great engineering 
feat that has been accomplished there will soon be seen in minia- 
ture at Juanacatlan. 

228 




Be sure and go to the falls, and when there make a tour 
through the great mill. If you can talk or understand Spanish, 
you will learn much as to the grain products of this fertile region, 
the methods of handling and trading in them, the making of 
flour, etc. ; but if you cannot talk much, you can see there, 
without inconvenience, what you may never have an opportunity 
to see elsewhere. 

You can get to the falls by tram road from El Castillo station. 
Mules gallop gayly over the hills under the gentle persuasion of 
the lash, and land you at the mill in half an hour. If you are fond 
of riding, you will find 
the excursion to the falls 
on horseback from Gua- 
dalajara exhilarating and 
interesting. 

Returning to the train 
at El Castillo, a run of 
forty minutes will bring you to Guadalajara, the capital of the 
state of Jalisco, and, excepting Mexico, the largest city in the 
Republic. The traveller will find here as fine a terminal station 
as at many large towns in the States. Everything about it is as 
neat as wax, and as substantial as stone and iron can make it. 
Moreover it is right in town, only a few blocks from the Plaza de 
Armas and the Cathedral. 

Guadalajara and vicinity may be said to offer to the tourist 
more attractions than any other region of Mexico, excepting the 
capital itself and its valley. It is no wonder that the city has 
been named La Perla del Occidente, the Pearl of the West. It 
might safely be called " the jewel of Mexico." No other city 
approaches it, unless it be Puebla ; but the real beauty of that 
city is outside, while Guadalajara has many charms within her 
gates, and also many just beyond. The centre of its charms is, of 
course, the plaza, a beautiful garden surrounded by splendid 
buildings. On one side is the government palace, on another 



229 



f 



the Cathedral, and on the other two sides long rows of portales 
with their graceful arches. One can never forget his first even- 
ing on the plaza in Guadalajara. The balmy air, heavy with 
fragrance of roses and orange blossoms ; the enchanting music ; 
the array of beautiful women and handsome men prom- 
enading 7>is-a-vis (so as to see and to be seen) ; the blaze of 
electric lights and the flicker of the venders' torches ; the sight 
of the highest and lowest classes mingling in pursuit of pleasure 
in the park belonging no more to the proud don than to the poor- 
est peon, — all combine to make a scene which can scarcely be 
- , witnessed elsewhere. Some visitors have said that 
J^ ? "improvement" has made Guadalajara less at- 
tractive. To be sure it has, in its parts, a look 
of comparative newness, but no one should 
complain of that : it really means comparative 
cleanness. It is one of the brightest of Mexi- 
can cities. Its Cathedral is rivalled only 
by that of the capital anl that of 
Puebla. Its government build- 
ing has a modern air about it 
that is pleasing. Its stucco 
is colored a light gray, and its 
white trimmings are decidedly 
agreeable to the eye. No 
gaping griffins threaten you 
from the eaves, and even the 
cannons which constitute the 
uater-spouts of the building 
are welcome for a change. 
Above the great clock on the 
front of the building is a relief of the national arms, ami below 
one of the state arms. Towers, one on each corner, complete 
and ornament the fagade of the palace, and the visitor is re- 
minded of the Royal Exchange in London by seeing on a 




230 



government building an inscription of a Bible passage. Here 
the passage is, "Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat 
qui cusiodit earn" ("Except the Lord keep the city, the watch- 
man waketh but in vain "). 

Guadalajara is noted the world over for its beautiful ladies, 
and, like Athens of old, it is very religious. In its loyalty to the 
church it is second to none in Mexico, and it makes good its 
claim by works of charity and mercy, as well as by public wor- 
ship. 

The famous Hospicio will, of course, be visited by every 
tourist. It is a very extensive establishment of charity and 
devotion. It luxuriates in twenty-three patios, each one made 
bright and fragrant and refreshing by fountains and flowers. The 




LAW SCHOOL. 

unfortunate inmates must be counted fortunate in such surround- 
ings. How much better off are they than their thousands of 
very poor neighbors across the river ! And here is a contrast 
which will strike the visitor. Let him go from the beautiful part 
of the city, say from the great plaza, across the river to the 
suburb called San Juan de Dios (St. John of God). Here the 
poor are huddled together in unpaved streets, the dreariness of 
which is nowhere relieved by a park or plaza containing shade or 



231 



-:^ 



flowers. An open square without ornament is all the breathing 
place they have. Such houses for homes ! often with no window, 
and always without good air ; with the ground for a bed and rags 
for covering, in abject poverty here live, or rather exist, many 
hundreds, if not thousands, of the families who make up the 
ninety-five thousand population of the " Pearl of the West " of 
Mexico. The visitor who is to see Mexican life among the poor 
as well as among the rich must make a flying trip to San Juan de 
Dios. Having seen the worst, one may, perhaps, forget it in 
seeing the best. A trip to San Pedro is a 
^^ delight. The ride is along the 
f.^_jm^ ancient calzada under great trees 
that must have been kissed by the 
sun for a hundred years and per- 
haps for two or three times 
as long. Paved streets, 
handsome residences, fine 
stores, beautiful gardens, 
and happy faces will greet 
you at San Pedro. 
This is the favorite suburb of 
Guadalajara. Here the wealthy 
people have their out-of-town homes. Here the famous Guadala- 
jara pottery ware is made. The visitor who wants the genuine 
ware at decent prices should buy it here, and not at the capital, 
where he may or may not get the real article, and will certainly 
have to pay double its worth. 

If you want to see yourself as others see you, get a bust of 
yourself at San Pedro. You can do it thus : 'Iwo native " artists 
in clay," in fact, sculptors, dwell in San Pedro ; they are father 
and son, named Panduro. Anybody can tell you where to find 
them, and they will mould you to the life. Or, if you will send for 
them, one at least will wait on you at your hotel, and in due time 
return you a statuette of yourself daintily done in clay. It is 




232 



said that the Panduros are to be sent to the Columbian Fair by 
the state of Jalisco. 

Days may be spent pleasantly in this beautiful city and other 
days in exploring the grand surroundings. A visit to the famous 
barranca should not be omitted. The Lerma or Santiago River 
has here cut its way from the plateau to a lower level, and has 
made an enormous caiion, the perpendicular sides of which are 
two thousand feet high. At the top of the chasm you are in 
a temperate climate ; at the bottom you get a taste of the 
" torrid " temperature, which must be felt to be appreciated. 
Nowhere else in Mexico, and probably nowhere else in the world, 
can so satisfactory an excursion be made so easily ; two hours' 
ride from the city brings one to the barra7ica, but the visitor 
should devote the whole day to the excursion to this region of 
the banana and the palm. 




IN THE BARIlfN.NCA. 



211 



XVII. 



• Which 1 have earned with the sweat uf my brows." 

Don Quixote. 



\UANAJUATO, the fifth city of Mexico, with 
a population of fifty-three thousand, Hes 
in a mountain ravine fourteen miles east 
from Silao. The locomotive will only 
take you to the suburb Marfil, eleven 
miles ; there you take a street car, and 
'^c^^^ the mules do the rest. Marfil is a Moorish-look- 
•• ing village composed of low, square, flat-roofed 
stone houses ; adobe seems to be at a discount in 
and about Guanajuato. Everything in the vicinity 
seems built to stay. The road up the ravine from 
Marfil to the city is a wonderful piece of engineering, 
which took eighty-five years to complete. Heavy 
loads require good roads, and Guanajuato has both. 
The yield of the mines and the supplies for their 
operation make this one of the most important stations for busi- 
ness on the line. 

Guanajuato is one of those terraced places where it would be 
convenient for people to have one leg shorter than the other. 
The residents must be both climbers and creepers. Such nooks 
and crooks and crannies ! It reminds one of those hillside vine- 
yards on the Rhine. The wonder is that so much level space has 
been found or made. It is said that it cost one hundred thou- 
sand dollars to make the lot on which the costly church of the 
Compania is bui't, which is one of the finest churches in Mexico. 




%X - 



234 



The Jesuits had hard times here ; they spent some twenty 
years in comi)leting this church, and two years afterward were 
expelled from the country. In the Compaiiia are some beautiful 
paintings, and on the fagade several superior statues. 

There is plenty of silver in these overhanging mountains, but 
little of it seems to get into the hands of the common people. 
There are traditions about washing pigs for the silver which they 
have accumulated by a wallow in the rich mud-puddles ! Why 
not try some of the children? Won't silver stick to them? 

Exceedingly Mexican is Guanajuato. The streets are a sight ; 
burros and bargains everywhere. Where so many are sellers, 
who are the buyers? The sellers themselves are, of course, 
buyers of other goods than their own, and the slippery centavo 
makes the lively trade of the street. 

One thing that will attract attention in Guanajuato is the varie- 
gated stone used in many of the finest buildings. It seems to 
have all the colors of 
the rainbow, but green 
prevails. There is an 
immense theatre, four 
stories in height, built 
of this stone near the 
Alameda. The great 
walls look as if they 
had been frescoed. 
This theatre is said to 
be the largest in North 
America, certainly it is 
the largest in Mexico, 
and when it is completed it will be one of the notable buildings 
of the continent. A visit to the quarries above the city is most 
interesting. Immense grotto- like caves, the roofs of which are 
supported by columns, have been made there by the extraction of 
the stone. Men transport the product of these quarries on their 




235 



backs down the mouniaiii-side, through the streets, and up 

ladders to the workmen on the walls. 

The main plaza is a small but very pretty triangular park raised 

above the streets, surrounded by fine stores on two sides, and on 

the third side by the parish 
church. The chief resort of 
the people, however, is in the 
park called La Presa, near the 
upper reservoir ; there are the 
music stand and the prome- 
nade, and there is the oddest 
place of recreation in this odd 
country. 

Historically the Alh6ndiga 
de Granaditas, known now as 
"The Castle," is the most in- 
teresting building in the city. 
It was once an " Exchange," 
as its name indicates, but now 
it is a federal prison. Hi- 
ilalgo captured it early in his 
fight for inilependence. His 
companions were few, and 
so they could not hold the 
fort. Later in the conflict 
_^^^^^^^_^^^^ the heads of the four leaders 
^r ^^^^^■fetjZ_^?' were brought here from Chi- 

r ^^^^mmi huahua and exposed on the 

corners of the castle as a 

warning to traitors. The republican has honored Hidalgo with a 

statue on the spot where the royalist tried to disgrace him. The 

Mexican Republic is Hidalgo's true monument. 

The history of (luanajuato is a series of surprises. The city 

was founded on account of a surprise away back in 1548. The 




^36 



traditional mule got away, and in hunting him up, silver was 
found, as well as the mule. It has grown by a constant increase 
of surprises ; new discoveries of rich minerals are being made, 
as exploration is constantly going on, and this district, which has 
been worked almost continuously for more than three hundred 
years, still startles the country every now and then with a new 
and rich strike. Zacatecas may be ahead of Guanajuato a little, 
it is estimated that that district has yielded one thousand million 
dollars in gold and silver ; but Guanajuato cannot be very far 
behind. The annual output now is about six million dollars. If 
the present yield had been the average for three hundred years, 
the result would be eighteen hundred millions. But one can get 
some idea of the wealth of Mexico in its mountains when he re- 
calls the fact that since the conquest, Mexican mines of gold and 
silver have yielded four thousand million dollars, or about three 
eighths of the total yield of the globe during that period. They 
are turning out now about fifty millions annually, and this state 
of Guanajuato is supplying one eighth of that product. It is 
said that the Valenciana mine alone has produced more than 
eight hundred million dollars. That is a good mine to visit, by 
the way, for it has a convenient stone stairway to its treasure 
house. 

" There are a great many reduction works here," observed the 
Captain. 

"Yes, more than fifty," said the Major. "The method of 
extraction used here is the same as that at Pachuca, the patio 
process, but now a large quantity of ore is shipped away for 
treatment in smelters; much of it goes to San Luis Potosi." 

"What is inside those high walls over there?" asked the Cor- 
poral, pointing to the north. 

" That is the cemetery of the city, the panteon, as they call it 
here. About ten acres of ground are enclosed by walls, per- 
haps ten feet high. Bodies are deposited in chambers such as you 
see in the vaults ia our cemeteries ; I told you about that in Zaca- 

237 



tccas, where we saw some bones on the ground. Here there is an 
immense sub- cemetery where the bones are placed at the expira- 
tion of the chamber leases. By a winding stairway you descend 
into this great charnel-house, which is nearly nine hundred feet 
long, twenty feet wide, and more than twenty feet high. The 
room is arched and well lighted, and contains all that is left of 
more than thirty thousand good Mexicans. Bones and skulls are 
piled up at either end of this storehouse, indiscriminately and 
without reference to ownership. It beats the church of St. 
Ursula in Cologne all to pieces." 

" That is where the bones of the eleven thousand virgins are, 
isn't it?" said the Captain. "I remember; those relics are 
nicely arranged along the walls behind glass." 

" Yes, but these are thrown in as they come. Don't you wish 
to go over there, Corporal ? " 

" No, I'd rather go to a bull fight." 

" But I haven't told you all yet. There are mummies in the 
room too, twenty or thirty of them. They are worth going to 
see." 

" Well, thank you, I don't care to see them." 

" Neither do I," added the Captain. 

" Do look at that man with a water jar as long as he is," 
exclaimed the Corporal. "That is a new thing." 

" Yes, styles differ. You'll see another style in San Luis. The 
jars you have seen are mostly earthenware, but this long one 
is made of leather. 

' The hills are so sleep, and the streets are so narrow, 
He can't carry earthen jars on a wheelbarrow ' 

in Guanajuato ; maybe that's the reason for the shape of these 
curious articles. We must happen round by a fountain where a 
regiment of these agitatfores is in line waiting to fill up." 

"Where does the water that supplies the city come from ? " 
asked the Captain. 

238 



" From springs in the mountain range above. The supply 
is not equal to the demand, but a series of dams across the 
ravine forms reservoirs, and the storage system here constitutes 
the most remarkable water works in Mexico." 




Many are the strange and interesting things in and about 
Guanajuato ; most impressive of all perhaps the wonderful en- 
gineering of the city. Nowhere else can one see terraces of 
artificial lakes, supplied by mountain streams and supported by 
enormous retaining walls. Over great stone dams these lakes 
discharge their waters into one another in a series of beautiful 
cascades ; along these walls and overlooking these resevoirs are 
situated some of the cosiest and costliest houses of the city. 
Vines and flowers conceal the work of man, and nature makes 
this marvel of utility a masterpiece of beauty. 

"I should want to be on the mountain or out of town if a 
break occurred in one of these walls," said the Captain. 

" Breaks have occurred ; at least there have been terrible 
disasters here from floods. One is recorded of the year 1760, 
and the latest was in 1885, in the night, when a vast amount of 
property was destroyed and many lives were lost." 



239 



The return to Marfil was quickly made, the trip being down 
hill all the way. What a wonderful road that is through the 
ravine, what sharp curves, what solid bridges, and what dusty 
streets ! 

On the way back to Silao the Major gave the boys an account 
of the martyr and patriot Hidalgo. 

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was parish priest of Dolores, a lit- 
tle place near (iuannjuato. He was the leading spirit in the effort 
to liberate Mexico from Spanish rule. His plans were discovered 
before he was ready to strike, but he decided to defy the op- 
pressors with what forces he could raise. As news of his dis- 
covery was brought to him about eleven o'clock at night, he had 
but one way of rousing the people. The church bells of Dolores 
were rung, and the alarmed populace rushed to the plaza, where 
Hidalgo, with a musket in one hand and a torch in the other, met 
them, told them of the proposed movement and cried, " Long 
live our mother, most holy (luadalupe, long live America, and 
death to bad government." This was the declaration of inde- 
pendence. This is what is called "The Grilo," and is the 
national watchword with which the President of the Republic be- 
gins the annual festivities of the Mexican Fourth of July. These 
words he repeats from the balcony of the palace in the capital to 
the thousands assembled to hear them at eleven o'clock at night, 
on the 15th of September, the anniversary of the very hour when 
Hidalgo uttered them at Dolores in 1810. 

The first blow was struck at (iuanajuato. He ami his follow- 
ers besieged the castle and captured the city. He moved on 
with his followers, daily increasing in numbers by arrivals from 
every part of the country, and defeated the viceroy's army in 
several battles. In January, 181 1, the royal forces defeated the 
rebels, as the patriots were called, and Hidalgo, with the other 
leaders, Jimenez, AUende, and Aldama, fled northward, hoping to 
reach the United States. They were betrayetl and captured in 
May: in July they were executed at Chihuahua, Their heads 



240 



were brought to Guanajuato and exposed on the Alhundiga de 
Granaditas, or Castle, which they had captured a few months be- 
fore. Although Hidalgo was slain, the cause for which he died 
found defenders and friends by thousands. Morelos, another 
priest and brave patriot, welcomed Hidalgo's fate for liberty's sake. 
Later, Yturbide accomplished the work that Hidalgo com- 
menced, and in 182 1 Spain acknowledged the independence of 
Mexico, The remains of the patriots were taken with the high- 
est honors to the great Cathedral in the capital, where they now 
rest beneath the most costly altar of that " holy metropolitan 
church of Mexico," the Altar of the Kings. 




J41 




XVIII. 

" Then you have an immense pleasure to come." 

High Life Below Stairs. 

" In lands of palm, of orange blossom, 
Of olive, aluc, anil maize and vine." 

yVie Daisy. 

E are now going to the very spot where the 
European first set foot on the American 
continent," said the Major, as the train left 
Aguas CaUentes for 'I'ampico. "Americus 
Vespucius landed at Tampico in 1497, and 
made a report of his visit, which is very 
interesting reading." 

"Where can we find it?" asked the 
Captain. 

"In Fiske's history, 'Discovery of 
- America.' Tampico was at that time 
''1 called Lariab. Americus tells about 
a big g.ime dinner that he had there, 
which clearly shows that the region was then, as now, the para- 
dise of the sportsman. This Columbian year is a good one for 
you young discoverers to devote to a tour of exploration in this 
ancient region. Having seen where Corlds landed in 15 19, it 
will be interesting to stand where, thirty-two years before him, 
stood the man whose name the New World bears." 




242 



:w. V 



5 05.,, 






U- 



< C n; 

o - 5 



X ~ 



r 



s. 



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^i JC 



M V. /. ^ ^ ' 



The Tarapico train runs north nine miles on the 
main Hne to Chicalote station, where the division 
branches off to the northeast. For an hour we 
continue in the same fertile country that surrounds 
the city of Aguas CaHentes, and then begin to rise 
to a region in which we see no wheat or corn, but 
ride for miles through fields of maguey. We pass 
a number of unimportant stations with pretty 
names (San Gil, San Marcos, La Honda), but 
with little else to attract attention. The Captain 
was observing the landscape closely, as his ques- 
tions clearly showed. 

"How is this country. Major, is it poor land? 
I notice that all this maguey is very small. There 
are no such large plants as we saw on the way to 
Pachuca. Does that indicate that the soil isn't 
able to produce them?" 

" No, not exactly that, although this region may 
not be as rich as that. There are numerous kinds 
of maguey, you know, just as there are various 
kinds of the cactus. This is the first time we have 
come upon this plant, which is the mescal maguey, 
and not the pulque plant ; it is smaller and its 
product is not secured in the same manner. You 
remember that I told you mescal was produced by 
distillation, while pulque was obtained by fermen- 
tation of the natural sap of the plant." 

"Is that a hacienda over there?" asked the 
Corporal. 

"Yes, a mescal hacienda. Rather pretty name, 
eh? It sounds better than 'whiskey still,' but 
that is what it is. There are very extensive es- 
tablishments about here, — no moonshining in 
Mexico," 



r 



243 



" Is that another? " askeci ihe Captain, pointing to a walled en- 
closure in the distance. 

"No mescal about that," replied the Major. "We are now 
coming to the Me.\ican Syracuse. 'I'hose are the great salt 
works of Penon Blanco or, in Spanish, Las Salinas del Penon 
Blanco, and this is Salinas station." 

" Great country this," said the Captain ; " it has on hand silver 
mountains, sulphur mines with automatic openings, onyx mines, 
hot springs, and here a salt mine I " 




•• Nut exactly a mine, though it is worth more to its owners 
than most mines are. We have here a great salt lake ; its ex- 
tent is unknown." 

" Why, that doesn't seem to be a very large lake," said the 
Captain, pointing to a large pond, near the train. 

"Oh, that isn't the salt lake; that is a little fresh-water lake, 
and overlies the salt one, which is a few feet below. This is a 
two-story lake country, if you please, and you'll come to a two- 
story cave between here and Tampico." 



244 



" I should think the fresh water would run through the 
ground into the salt lake," said the Corporal. 

" So it v.'OLild if it weren't for a water-tight roof over the salt 
lake. You see how green that mud looks in the patio ; that is 
some of the clay. A roof of that material prevents percolation 
from above. But for a large part of the year there is no fresh- 
water lake here. The sun licks it up soon after the rainy season 
is over. We are in a valley here, but we are nearly eight thou- 
sand feet high. Just east of us is the highest point on this divis- 
ion, and only two stations on the main line, Zacatecas and Lefia, 
are higher." 

"How do they get the salt out of the water?" asked the 
Corporal. 

"They don't," answered the Captain; " they get the water 
out of the salt." 

" That is chemistry for you," said the Major. " The sun does 
the business. Evaporation is the process chiefly used ; but as the 
sun doesn't work fast enough, steam is made use of. You see 
one of the steam salt factories yonder." 

"Where does all this salt go to? " asked the Corporal. 

" It goes all over Mexico. The mines use an enormous quan- 
tity ; one of the chief materials of the patio process of ore sepa- 
ration is salt, and the consumption for domestic purposes is very 
great. This subterranean lake, with the sun for a reduction 
works, is a big bonanza." 

"I see mules at work over there ; what are they doing? " 

" Yes, the mule is a silent partner in almost every business in 
Mexico ; not always silent, for sometimes he sings, but always at 
work. The mules are pumping the water into the vats. See the 
big wheels with their great leather buckets. Those revolving 
buckets dip the salt water and empty it into troughs which carry 
it to the evaporating vats. The pumping apparatus is called a 
"noria," and is quite an ingenious affair, almost as primitive as 
the well sweeps of Irapuato." 



245 



" W'liat a great establishment it is ! " said the Corporal. " It 
looks like a fort, a factory, a reduction works, and a residence all 
in one." 

" It is all that, and more too ; it is a mint ; not quite as fine 
in appearance as the park-like property at the Hercules mill 
which we saw at Queretaro, but as a money-maker it can discount 
that mill. You see the raw material is cheap, the machinery is 
cheap and cheaply run, and the market is without limit. 'After 

you've said and done all, 
there's nothing like salt,' say 
the men of Salinas." 

" What is the use of those 
walls?" asked the Captain; 
"and that ditch about them 
filled with water? Why, 
look at the towers and the 
places for guards, and a 
drawbridge over the moat ! 
What, warder ho, let the 
l)ortcullis fall." 

"Of no use at all now ; a fence would answer all present needs 
of i)rotection, but there was a time when things were different." 
" How long has the lake been worked. Major? " 
"About fifty years. From a small beginning the establishment 
has grown to these great dimensions. You can scarcely get an 
idea of the size of it without making a tour over it. There are 
miles of railroad track on the pro])erty serving the various store- 
houses, and connecting them with the road and the station. 
This is one of the great freight stations of the line ; salt, salt, 
everlastingly salt. The whole town of five thousand people lives 
on salt." 

" Who owns this concern?" asked the Corporal. 
" It is owned by a family or estate, but it is said that not one 
of the owners has lived here for vears. There is within those 




246 



massive walls a building which is finer, in many respects, than 
the palace in the capital. In its early days it must have been a 
regal residence, for even in its abandoned state it surprises and 
charms the visitor. The great patios are parks in which flowers 
and fountains blend their attractions, and it would seem as if 
any one might be contented and happy there ; but Paris is good 
enough for these people as long as salt supplies the pesos. The 
banquet hall of their castle at Salinas is deserted." 

There are no other stations of importance until we reach San 
Luis Potosi, but the country through which we run for the next 
fifty miles is not witliout interest to a thoughtful traveller. We 
come upon new vegetation, or at least upon a profuseness of 
plants, of which we have seen but scattered specimens. This 
seems to be the home of the yucca, and certainly the fantastic 
prickly pear or nopal, which forms part of the national coat of 
arms, finds here its most congenial climate and soil. 

After a very comfortable night the party took an ante-break- 
fast stroll about San Luis Potosi. They went past the Cathedral 
to the Alameda. The street scenes were novel 
and characteristic, but the trans- 
portation of water seemed to at- 
tract the attention of the boys 
more than anything else did. 

" Look at that curious old wheel- 
barrow ! " exclaimed the Corporal. 
" What is it loaded with? " 

"And what kind of a team do 
you call that?" said the Cap- 
tain. " Where is the other 
steer?" 

" Not a one-horse team, is it? " 
said the Major. " But what do you want of another steer? What 
is that saying of Goldsmith ? ' He who can make one animal do 
what trt-o generally do is a benefactor to his race.' I believe he 




2-17 



spoke of blades cf grass, but the i)rincij)le is the same. No use 
for two when one will answer, but it looks odd. Both these 
establishments are water-carts. Styles among water-carriers you 
know differ in Mexican cities. You saw the style in Guanajuato, 
and here you see two other styles on wheels. Curious traps ! 

- Look at the things closely. The 
wheels have no spokes ; they are 
simply round pieces of plank. It 
must lake some muscle and much 
l)ush to proj)el that wheelbarrow." 

"'I'his is a beautiful promenade," 
said the Captain, as they reached the 
Alameda. 

" Fine, and a gift of the church ; 
no, not exactly a gift, but a kind of 
forced loan. It used to be the pri- 
vate garden of the monks, the rec 
reation place for the i)ious people 
connected with the church anil con- 
\ent here. Ikit one day the govern- 
ment concluded that what was good 
for the i)ious i)riests was good for 
the poor people, and said, ' Brethren, 
give us this,' and they gave it, after 
a little persuasion." 
" Vou mean, after considerable confiscation," said the Captain ; 
"that reformation was cpiite a revolution, wasn't it?" 

" \'es, it was, sure enough. It left its marks in every town." 
" Do you recognize that handsome building o\er yonder?" 
" Why, that is the Mexican Central station ! It is a beautv, 
and right in the city too, as at Guadalajara. Vou don't see 
many finer railroad stations than that anywhere." 

" No, you don't. I think such a building must have an edu- 
cative intluence in such a place as this. It teaches the people, 




llH;Al.i.u .MD.NX.MKM. 



248 




TUNNELS IN TAMASOPO CANON. 



^ 



'i 



who never have seen any but these massive adobe and stone 
walls, that grace can go with strength, and beauty with utility." 

Part of the day was spent in a visit to the great works of the 
Compania Metalurgica Mexicana, an American enterprise, and 
the largest smelting plant in the country. 

This is an institution r ; 

of immense importance 
both to the Republic 
and the railroads reach- 
ing San Luis Potosi. 
These works and those 
at Monterey were but 
recently established, 
and their great pros- 
perity will perhaps lead 
to the building of other 
plants in Mexico, but 
certainly to the enlarge- 
ment of these already 
in operation as occa- 
sion requires. 

There are many fine 
buildings in San Luis 
Potosi. The govern- 
ment palace is attrac- 
tive in appearance ; the 
Cathedral shows some 
fine stone work on its 
towers. There are 
characteristic paintings 
of high quality in the 
church of El Carmen. Much can be seen in a given time at San 
Luis by taking a street car or carriage to the church of Guada- 
lupe, as the visitor thus takes in the Paseo, the fountains, the 




CHURCH OF GUADAT.UPE. 



249 



jail, and the market on the way, and reaches something worth 
going to see at the end of liis ride. The old church has a clock 
which was given by the king of Spain. 

On the entrance to this beautiful sanctuary arc these comfort- 
ing and inspiring words : — 

AQUI EL QUE PIDE RKCinE 

KL QUE BUSCA HALLA 
AL QUE TOCA SE LE AHRE 

" Here who asks receives, who seeks finds, to him who knocks 
it is ojiened." 

San Luis has a population of 63,500, and is the fourth city in 
the Republic. It has always been a very busy and flourishing 
place, holding the same relation to eastern that Guadalajara 
holds to western Mexico. The surrounding country is a very 
fertile district, and San Luis furnishes a ready market for its 
produce. The rapid growth of and the dis])lay of enterprise in 
San Luis have given it the right to be called "the Chicago of 
Mexico." 

"Thirty-seven miles from San Luis we come to Peotillos 
station, which takes its name from a great hacienda about three 
miles north of the track," said the ^Lajor as they resumed the 
journey. "This hacienda is one of the famous establishments 
of this region of colossal estates. It is said to have about six 
thousand dependants." 

" Did you ever visit the hacienda, Major? " 

" I did, and a gay time I had too." 

" Tell us about it please," said the boys. 

" With plea.sure, but words cannot describe the courtesy and 
cordiality with which one who is properly introduced is received 
there, 'i'he owners in San Luis had tele|jhoned the adminis- 
trador to have carriages at the station. We found there the 
administrador himself with two light coaches and an escort. 
Our party consisted of only two, a gentleman from Virginia and 



myself. Each of us could have had a coach with driver and 
outriders, but we preferred to go together ; so we rode with our 
host, and the other carriage went back empty. Half an hour 
brought us to the main entrance to the enclosure of the hacienda. 
Grouped together here were a chapel, storehouses, corrals, and 
lastly, an immense residence which, by its great length and its 
high veranda, reminded me of the front of Congress Hall in 
Saratoga Springs. This residence, or course, was the chief ob- 
ject of our visit. Passing through the grand entrance we came 
into a great patio, in which was a fine stone fountain and a great 
variety of semi-tropical fruits and flowers. After refreshment 
of various but delicious kinds in the salon, a great room hand- 
somely furnished with French furniture and embellished by fine 
paintings, we were shown over the premises. 

" From the tower above the main entrance we had an exten- 
sive view over the whole region. We could see, on the south, our 
train waiting for us at the station ; on the east, the great fields of 
maguey, from which the main product of the hacienda is obtained ; 
on the west, an Indian village, a curious collection of thatched 
huts, or jacalcs, as they are called, in which many of the peons 
lived. 

" A curious but pathetic scene was witnessed when we came 
down from the tower. This was the distribution of rations to 
the poor dependants of the hacienda. . Some two hundred 
people are fed here daily at the expense of the estate. There 
have been two bad years in this region ; that is, years without 
sufficient rain, and corn has been imported, much of it from the 
United States, to feed these people. A procession was formed, 
and each one passing the distributor received a ladleful of 
cooked corn and beans, a kind of succotash. The line of appli- 
cants included both sexes and all ages. The child hardly as 
tall as the great earthen jar which steamed with hot rations, 
was preceded or followed hy the tottering old man or shrivelled 
old woman, and all were in rags. 



!5i 



"It was an interesting, but a sad and touching sight; one 
which showed the other side, the shady side, if you please, of the 
hacienda Ufa. This estate has expended more than $60,000 in 
the past two years for the support of its dependants. Verily 
haciendados have their ' hard times ' as well as their luxurious 
seasons." 

.At the next station, \illar, we arc thirteen hundred feet below 
San Luis, and now begin to descend more rapidly through the 
San ^'sidro valley. Past Cerritos and two or three small stations, 
we rush on to Cardenas, where a good meal will be ready 
for us. We notice that, below Villar, we are in a verdant belt, 
spreading at last into a vast plain, where green has taken the 
place of gray, and brightness has supplanted brown in the land- 
scape. Such a change has occurred as we noticed on our ride 
into Real del Monte, and for the same reason. The side of the 



i I I y i ^H 1 \ I % E 
.3 § J = 1 1 




100 126 iM 17& an tu tto n& aw 3S> »o n» «M tUMUw 
I'RdFILE MAP OK TAMPICO DIVISION. 



valley which faces the gulf receives moisture, while the other 
side does not. Hence in all these lateral valleys and on the 
intervening sloping plains we find the same thing ; one side 
fresh and fruitful, the other side comparatively dry and barren. 
A reference to your profile of the line will give you the clearest 
idea of our progress to the sea level. \'ou will see that we are 
going down stairs, and that each step is one of these sloping 
plains. These plains or table lands of different levels we reach 
through passes and canons. 



-52 



The pass through which we are going down to the next step 
is the San Ysidro. The profile will give you an idea of the grade 
(some of it is two and one half per cent), but it can convey no 
conception of the crookedness of the road. The taste of eigh- 
teen degree curves which we get on the way down the San Jose 
mountains is a good preparation for the feast of them which we 
shall have farther on ; and the scenery too is a vast improvement 
on any that we have had since we left Aguas Calientes. We are 
reminded of the "Notch" in New Hampshire. 

" Curious names along here," said the Captain, looking on 
the map ; " this one is pretty, La Joya, the jewel." 

"How about this one. El Gato, the Tom-cat?" said the Major. 

Cerritos is the most important station between San Luis and 
Cardenas. The country about here is very fertile and the valley 
very extensive. Large towns are at a little distance both north 
and south of Cerritos. On the north is El Maiz in the centre of 
a great grain region, and on the south the city of Rio Verde, on 
the river of the same name, the business centre of a remarkable 
fruit country. 

" By the way. Corporal, what would you think of a smoked 
orange? " asked the Major. 

" A smoked orange ! I never heard of such a thing." 

" Neither did I, anywhere else, but they say that the Rio 
Verde people smoke their oranges as we smoke hams." 

"Why?" asked the Captain; "I should think it would spoil 
their flavor." 

"Well, I suppose they know what they are about. They 
claim that smoking them keeps them fresh." 

A run of about fifty miles, passing the unimportant stations 
San Bartolo and Las Tablas, brings us to Cardenas, the end of the 
six-hour run from San Luis Potosi, in which we have dropped 
nearly twenty-two hundred feet. 

Cardenas is an important station for the passenger ; here he 
gets a good meal. Quaint little place this Cardenas ; most of 



'■53 



it lies " untler the hill " below the station. Near the track there 
is a large storehouse, or hacienda, if you please, belonging to the 
governor of the state of San Luis Potosi. Corn is the chief 
product of the region. 

There is a rich agricultural district south of this point watered 
bv the Rio \'erde, which runs for many miles nearly parallel with 

the road at a distance of, 
perhaps, fifteen miles. 
^ The station house at 

Cardenas is a fine sub- 
stantial building, and ojie 
that makes a wonderful 
contrast with the prevail- 
ing architecture of the 
natives. 

Leaving Cardenas we 
skirt the stream and pass 
immediately through a 
Ljreat cut which leads us 
to the green western side 
of another valley named 
Canoas. 

From Cardenas we must 
Ljet down four thousand 
feet, and we must be 
about it miiy proi.to, no 
manana about it. \\'e be- 
u'iii in the cut and down 

BAMBOO. ■ . 1 • 

we go mto tins cup or 
canoe, as it is named. What fantastic sides the valley has ! 
The soil of the bottom is red and e\idently ricli, for you see great 
fields of corn and wheat, and along the little stream great cy- 
press trees which tell you of another change, this time a change 
of climate as well as of vegetation. lUit the sides of the cup ! 




= 54 



they are high mountains, which do not slope off gradually into a 
plain as those do which we have seen along our journey. These 
mountains seem to have been pushed up through the edges of 
the valley, and their peaked points are directly above us. Here 
and there are strange formations of rock, some of them project- 
ing into the valley from the sides of the mountains, some of 
them standing quite alone. Near the Canoas station is one of 
these formations which will attract special attention. It has the 
appearance of an immense turreted castle wall. 

This valley of Canoas has an elevation of about three thousand 
six hundred feet, and a most genial cHmate. It is an ideal 
spot. Some of the officials of the road say that they had much 
rather live in this valley than in any other place they know of in 
Mexico. 

Just as we leave Canoas we begin a long toboggan slide. 
The steep decline begins at a little bridge near the station ; 
we feel the plunge the moment we pass that point. The slide 
is twenty-eight miles long, extending from Canoas to Rascon. 
It takes about two hours and a half to make the trip, but the 
traveller would forgive the management if it would allow five 
hours to this section of road. There is no more delightful 
scenery on any railroad line in the world than that which greets 
the eye in the few hours spent between Cardenas and Rascon. 
The charming valley of Canoas is quickly succeeded by the 
yawning gulf or gorge of Tamasopo — the straight line by the 
tortuous trail. The plain is succeeded by precipitous mountains 
sloping a thousand feet below us to the stream, and a thousand 
feet above us toward the sky. Clinging to the sides of these 
mountains the road parallels the river, piercing numerous sharp 
points with tunnels. It is supported in many places by enor- 
mous retaining walls. Across the little stream, which far below 
glistens like a thread of silver, rise the mountains which are the 
counterparts of these on whose sides w-e are smoothly sliding. 
We can get a somewhat adequate idea of what man has achieved 

255 



here over nature by imagining how great a work would be neces- 
sary to render it as easy and as safe for us to ride along those 
mountain-sides as we find it to ride along these. Had we not 
ocular demonstration to contradict us, we should say at once that 
it could not be done. 

The peculiar charm of this grand canon of the Tamasopo is 
the verdure of the mountains from base to summit. In the 
Toltec gorge and in the grand caiion of the Arkansas in Colo- 
rado we are awed by the masses of bare rock which tower above 
us or yawn below us, but here we seem to be floating along on 
the tree-tops. The moisture which comes from the sea supplies 
the vegetation of the caiion with ample and constant means of 




HIS TitSY DAY. 



growth, and the mountains are arrayed in green, even 'though the 
plains above may enjoy no rain for months at a time. The 
sense of grandeur is not wanting, but the sense of beauty sur- 
passes it in the mind of the observer. When one comes at last 
to stand on the height above the mouth of th? canon, and to 
look down ui)on the great valley spread out at his feet, shining 
in its gorgeous mantle of tropical hues and stretching away to 



25C 




EL SALTO DEL AIUi-A. DE CABALLEROS. 



other mountains beyond, he feels, " even nature could no further 
go," and that he is beholding one of the great finished views of 
the world. Edward P^verett said it was worth a trip across the 
ocean to see where the Potomac breaks through the mountains 
at Harper's Ferry ; he certainly would have thought it worth 
a journey from Boston or from Pekin to stand on Monument 
Rock at Prospect Point and feast his eyes on this picture ot 
the Tamasopo. 

From Prospect Point we see just below us the mouth of the 
great canon along the southern wall of which we have been wind- 
ing for the past hour, and down which we have to creep yet 
another hour. On the left is the lofty mountain range that 
forms the northern wall of the canon, and before you the carpet- 
like plain, bordered by palms and other tropical trees, and 
checkered by plantations of sugar-cane. Over all the landscape 
is that charm which Wordsworth saw in a picture, " The light 
that never was on sea or land." This magnificent view remains 
some time in sight as we ride along the mountain-side, for the 
track turns, at the Point, sharply to the south. We trace our 
road down to the plain by the line of clearing, forward, and back, 
and around, and then straight away through the forest. The 
track is seen at four different points, each on a different level 
below us. And what is that in the dim distance beyond the 
trees ? A train waiting for us to pass and give it the right of 
way up the mountain. 

"Well, this beats all the railroading of my life," exclaimed the 
Corporal, as the train turned the Point. 

" Nothing so grand as this have I ever seen," said the Cap- 
tain. " Look where we shall soon be — there — and there — 
and there ! " 

"Yes, indeed, 'and there' once more," said the Major, point- 
ing to a gap in the eastern range beyond the valley ; " through 
that we pass to yet another plain, and that plain is even more 
extensive than this now before us." 



257 




Wonders of engineering seemed to increase as they looked 
from the left side of the train in the descent. There is, not far 
from the Point, a remarkable slump in the mountain. There 
has been a "subsidence"; in other 'vords, the bottom or floor 

has dropped out, 
and the roof has 
dropped in, leav- 
ing an enormous 
funnel-like depres- 
sion. It is called 
by the natives El 
Hoyo de San Jose 
(St. Joseph's Pit). 
.Around this crater 
the road must run, 
KAiLKOAD TOY\nr.r..\s. and, in finding its 

way down, the train goes, within fifteen minutes, south, east, 
north, east again, then southeast, and at last northeast to the 
station at the foot of the mountain. 

" Look up there ! See where we have come from ! " exclaimed 
the Corporal, pointing to the mountain. 

"If you could look ahead, my boy, you would exclaim, ' See 
what we are coming to ! ' you are in wonderland, and although 
you don't seem to know it, you are right now in a coffee grove ! 
See the shiny green leaves and the tiny red berries ! " 
"Sure enough, but I thought we were in a forest." 
" And so we are. The coffee plant must have shade, and so 
is planted under other trees when possible. This is the only 
ciifelixl, or coffee grove, that we pass directly through. But here 
we are close by one of the great curiosities of this wonderful re- 
gion — a natural bridge. The natives call it Puente de Dies 
(the bridge of God). 

" On our left, a half-mile from the track down in the stream 
that we saw in the bottom of the great caiion as we came along, 



25<5 



is this bridge of stone. It is just below one of the prettiest 
pools in the world, one that might be properly named ' Monte- 
zuma's Bath.' It is worthy of a royal name and a princely 
patron ; and when an easy way of reaching it is provided, as it 
will be some day, everybody who goes over the road will take a 
side trip down to this wonderful grotto. 

"The water in the pool is blue. The 'Blue Juniata' is gray 
compared with this Tamasopo, hitherto unknown to fame. The 
main body of the stream comes down in a cataract and reaches 
the pool by a fall of twenty or thirty feet ; but a part is sepa- 
rated above, and finds its way into the pool in a dozen little 
streams, over the mossy rim of the basin. These rills, rushing 
out from beneath the overhanging foliage of palms and ferns 
and vines, present a charming picture. To get a good view of 
the arch it is necessary to go in swimming." 

"That would suit me," interrupted the Captain. 

The whole stream does not run under the arch, there isn't room 
for it ; but the water has chiselled a cavern of several rooms from 
the rock, as well as made this arched bridge. It may be possible 
that the lime from the spray of the water has built up the whole 
promontory which faces the cataract and forms the lower side 
of the pool. This formation of stone is constantly going on 
there ; limbs of trees are found encrusted with lime an inch and 
even two inches thick. The limbs have rotted away and left the 
rock looking like a tube. Many beautiful specimens of such 
formation have been taken from there. 

On now through a new world of trees and flowers and ferns, a 
perfect tangle of tropical luxuriance. Moss sways from the 
limbs, and thousands of bright orchids make us think we are 
in some great orchard of strange trees loaded with a stranger 
fruit. If this isn't fairyland, we shall not see it on this trip, or 
on any other. 

Passing the station Tamasopo, where the waiting train is on 
the siding, and another small stopping place, we come, after a 

259 



short run across the plain to Rascon, a small but im])ortant 
place ; imjjortant to us as a place of refreshment, and to the rail- 
road company as headquarters of the operating department for 
the mountain service. The company has considerable property 
at Rascon. The station building is handsome and commodious. 
The shops are large and fully equipped, as they must be, to meet 
the requirements of a mountain division. Here is the home of 
the largest locomotives in the world. The company has just 
placed three of these monster machines on this mountain sec- 
tion. They are double-truck, compound engines peculiarly 




MOIMAIN r.VClNK. 

adapted to freight service on heavy grades and sharp curves. 
They have two boilers with fire boxes placed back to back, and 
the driving wheels are carried by two swivelling truck frames, one 
under each boiler. Look at the picture and you will under- 
stand all about them, perhaps. The weight of each engine is 
two hundred and fifty thousand pounds ! 

This is the region of the palm and bamboo : it is also one of 
the sugar sections of Mexico. The home of the parrot and of 
the monkey is not far away. Great haciendas are near by, and 



260 



although the country is sparsely settled, its production is small 
only in comparison with what it might be, and doubtless will be 
before long. The railroad makes as well as takes business. 

"What a day we have had !" said the Captain. 

"Yes," said the Corporal, "and it's only half a day at that." 

" Think of it," said the Major, " only forty-two miles from 
Cardenas ! in a few hours, between breakfast and dinner, we 
have dropped three thousand feet, and come into what is a new 
world to you, where we are not one thousand feet above the sea. 
And how much we have seen that is grand and strange ! Climate 
has changed, vegetation is different, a new style of architecture 

appears. Where in the world | 

outside of Mexico can you find 
such contrasts and changes in 
so short a time? " 

At the station of Micos (the 
monkeys), fifteen miles from 
Rascon, we enter upon another 
caiion, which is called El Abra 
de Caballeros. The Caballeros 
(Cavaliers) are the two bold 
mountains rising, one on either 
side, above the river along which 
the track runs through the 
cafion. In this short cafion is 
some of the finest scenery on 
the line. The river is a con- 
stant delight, and at the mouth 
of the canon it surprises us by a series of cascades called El 
Salto del Abra de Caballeros. The waters here make a descent 
of three hundred feet. Immediately above the cascades, across 
the river from the track, rises an immense cone-shaped mountain 
fully two thousand feet high. Its side towards us is a precipitous 
cliff, which is largely covered by vegetation of the brightest green, 




!6l 



and looks like a great rug hung out for an airing. The waters 
seem to catch the hue, for they are green also, but their appear- 
ance is accounted for by the moss on the rocks over which they 
pass. The view, looking up the river here from the rear of the 
train, is indescribably beautiful. 

But looking forward also we have a view which reaches the 
limits of the power of sight. Here, as at Prospect Point, we are 
high above a vast plain which stretches away almost to the sea. 




To get down to the lt\el ui un^ i>iain wc lurn to the right just 
below the falls, and run along the mountain-side, having in sight 
the valley and the almost boundless plain. We pass through Valles, 
a station of some importance, and arrive at El Abra, which, for 
a while at least, was the "heaviest" station on the Mexican Cen- 
tral line. We mean that here the heaviest loads were taken, and 
the greatest number of them. As they approached the station 
the Major said, " Here we come to something interesting, boys." 

" Why, it looks like a railroad camp," said the Captain. 

"That's what it is. Let's look round; there's lots to see 
that you won't see elsewhere, and that won't be here long." 



" What curious huts and what odd-looking clothes ! " said the 
Corporal. "And what a box in the rocks this place is !" 

" Not much clothes, anyhow," said the Captain. " See that 
procession of water-carriers ! The whole village seems to be 
out for water." 

" Yes ; there is no supply here, and water is brought in tanks 
on flat cars. When a car arrives the chief business is toting 
jars and cans till the tanks are empty. Round here there is 
nothing like stone," said the Major. 

" I should say nothing but stone," added the Corporal. 
" That quarry looks like it sure. See the men up yonder drill- 
ing. They are blasting away a whole mountain." 

"What for?" asked the Captain; " for the railroad?" 

" Not exactly, but indirectly. The stone is taken to Tampico 
and thrown into the sea to make a wall. You know they are 
building jetties there. Well, here you see the beginning of the 
downward career of this mountain, and there you will see the 
end of it." 

"This is robbing Peter to pay Paul." 

" No ; not quite so bad as that," replied the Major. " Paul 
has to pay Peter something on account. Peter gives rock, and 
Paul pays for it in part by sending back sand for road ballast. 
This is a kind of ' balance of trade ' affair. At present the 
balance is against the sea, but it is expected that when the work 
is done, the sea will refund all the outlay. Tampico is to be the 
chief seaport of Mexico on the Atlantic, and this division will be 
the greatest business piece of railroad in the Republic. You see 
what it has to attract the sight-seer, but it wasn't built for 
scenery, it was built for business and is bound to have it. This 
outlay of millions at Tampico is only a loan which the gulf must 
pay back with perpetual interest." 

" How much rock have they taken from here? " 

" I was told about thirty-seven thousand car-loads. Corporal, 
how many tons in that, say at fifteen tons to a car? " 

263 



" Something over half a million." 
" Heavy business at this station, I should say." 
" Yes, but it won't last long, as the work is nearly done. As 
you say, there is nothing here but stone, and soon these Indians 
will have to move on to some other work. They are like poor 
Joe. Let us hope they will find some paying work to do else- 
where ; when here 

They fold Iheir tents like the .\ral)s, 
And silently steal away.' 

We are now in the last ' pass ' of our journey. Through this 
' Boca del Abra ' we come to the last plain, but we have much to 

see in the next ten miles," 
continued the Major; 
"and first the Cathe.irair 
"What, a church here !" 
exclaimed the Corporal. 

"Not exactly, but a cave 
which I call the Cathedral, 
on account of its resem- 
blance to one. I'll tell you 
about it, and you can see 
for yourself whether I tell 
you the truth about it. It 
is a short distance up the 
mountain above the track. 
The ascent to this place is 
accomplished by means of 
cut-stone steps! Think 
of that ! Passing through 
a large vestibule, you find 
yoiiist.li HI u cross-shaped room of magnificent proportions, with 
arch and dome. On cither side are smaller rooms, chapels if 
you please, just as you see them in the churches. The whole 




.64 



edifice is lighted through skyhghts. The walls, being colored 
light gray, reflect the light enough to make it easy to see every- 
thing in the cave." 

"Who could have put in those cut-stone steps and those 
skylights?" asked the Corporal. "Are you telling us a fairy 
tale, Major? " 

" Not at all, you'll see for yourself in a little while. Nature 
made the windows \vhen she built the Cathedral. The sun . 
furnishes the light, and the railroad people made the steps for 
the convenience of pilgrims. Strange, but true, there is a 
garden in one of the chapels, and in every window there are 
plants, and flowers, and vines, and even trees. Such ' window 
gardening ' you never saw in your life. Then there are statues, 
as white and nearly as life-like as some you have seen in the 
old churches in Mexico. One of these looks like St. Peter, 
and is named for him ; others are smaller, and some are broken. 
You may be sure that 

' 'Tis like some Bedlam statuary dream, 
The crazed creation of misguided whim, 
That, hlce a giant wroth. 
Rushed down impetuously, as seized at once. 
By sudden frost, with all his hoary locks, 
Stood still.' 

I don't think frost had much to do with this St. Peter, but he's 
there and he stands still." 

"And the train is stopping!" exclaimed the Captain. "Now 
we'll see this Cathedral for ourselves." 

As they climbed the mountain the Corporal said, " Sure as 
you live, here are cut-stone steps." 

"Well, only a few," said the Captain. 

"A few is eight, according to good authority," said the Major, 
defending his statement. " All the steps are stone, and some of 
them are cut stone; that's true, isn't it? And now for the sky- 
lights and the window gardening." 

265 



" Literally true," said the Captain, as he looked with astonish- 
ment at the entrance, the vestibule, the statuary, and plants on 
the floor and on the roof of the cave. " Wonderful ! and just 

like a cathedral ! And the 
walls are frescoed too." 

" It does look so ! That 
is color from some mineral. 
The skylights are here, you 
see, Captain." 

" Yes, there is a great deal 
here that you didn't men- 
tion." 

" See, here is a tree grow- 
ing up straight through the 
skylight from the floor of the 
( hurch," said the Corporal. 
" It is as large and as straight 
as a telegraph pole." 

" Yes, my boy, but it grew 
dounj first from the dome to 
the floor, and then grew up 
again. See these little hair- 
like tendrils reaching duun ; they will keep on till they find the 
soil, and taking root they will grow and grow till they are as 
large as this one. You see hundreds ol them. ' 
"What made these statues?" asked the Corporal. 
" Drippings from the lime rock above. You see those stalactites 
hanging from the ceiling, like iti( les. In time they may reach 
the floor, and in time they will become columns or assume the 
shape of statues or take some fantastic form. It has taken 
much longer j)robably to build tliis Cathedral tlian any one 
you ever saw." 

" Well, it is a beauty anyhow. I didn't know we could see 
anything like this on our trip," said the Corporal. 




!C6 



"This is fine, but is not as large as another cave not very 
far from here, more difficult to reach, 'i'he entrance to that 
one, being very large, can be seen in the mountain-side a long 
distance off, and the name of it is La Ventana (the Window). 
It is said that the great hall in that cave is seven hundred feet 
high, and that it is lighted, as this one is, through openings in 
the roof." 

"That is a stunner ! " 
exclaimed the Corporal ; 
"but the Cathedral is 
cave enough for me." 

As they came out they 
were greeted with a scold- 
ing kind of chatter by a 
flock of little parrots who 
hovered over them, some- 
times coming quite near. 

"A short ride along the 
mountain-side," said the 
Major, " will bring us to 
another cave, in which a 
great pool can be seen. 
That one is below the 
railroad; in fact, the 
track goes exactly over 
the skylight, and you can 
see the pool from the 
track." 

The boys had learned 
by this time that the Ma- IP*,;^ 
jor's statements could be 
entirely trusted, and so expressed no doubt. In a L\\ irmuites 
they had an opportunity to see for themselves again. As the 
train came upon an iron bridge, the Major said, " Here we are 




267 



at Choy Cave. Look over the rail now as the car passes this 
bridge." 

The boys looked as directed, and sure enough there was the 
stream two hundred and five feet beneath them. 

" Now," continued the Major, " as you have seen the water 
from the bridge, it is only right that you should see the bridge 
from the water. Let us go down and verify my story." 

Down the sidehill on cut-stone steps (a few again) and into 
the first opening of the cave the party found themselves on a 
steep incline of broken stone. Had they gone a little farther 




LUUKINU Ul T UK ClIOV CAVE. 

down on the outside they would have had an easier time inside, 
but they did not know this fact until the return trip out of the 
cave. There are two i)arts to this lofty cave, each having a sky- 
light as in the Cathedral. At the bottom is a jjooI which is a 
wonder in extent and in weird attractiveness. No bath, natural 
or artificial, of which they had knowledge by sight or by story, 
had even suggested to the boys such a scene as was now before 



26S 




CHUV CAVE. 



them. The west wall of the cave rises in a curve to the dome, 
two hundred and five feet above. Through the opening at the 
top, directly overhead, could be seen the bridge from which they 
had looked down upon the pool a little while before. The cave 
runs into the mountain two or three hundred yards, but loses its 
great height as it recedes. The pool is a " still place " in the 
swift stream which resumes its rapid pace at the mouth of the 
cave. It is said that this is a lost river which comes to the sur- 
face here ; certainly there is no sign of a stream on the moun- 
tain above the cave. The pool is about fifty feet wide, three 
hundred feet long, and very deep. Near the lower end the 
bottom can be seen twenty or thirty feet down, and so clear is the 
water that a stone sinking in it can be seen till it reaches that 
depth, but farther up the stream is much deeper. 

"This is immense ! " said the Captain. 

"Perfectly tremendous ! " said the Corporal. 

" Big words, boys, but this is a great natural curiosity and no 
mistake ; the oftener one sees it, the more wonderful it seems. 
Four hours now to Tampico," said the Major, as they re- 
sumed the journey, " through a country, tame, of course, com- 
pared with that we have passed, but not without interest to the 
traveller. We can look and at the same time talk about some 
of the things we have seen and some that we shall see. While 
the ride from Canoas to Tamasopo is fresh in your mind, I want 
to ask you how you would like to take that ride on a hand-car? "' 

"It would be glorious," repHed the Captain; "a regular 
toboggan slide. 

"And think of a seventeen- mile toboggan slide," said the 
Corporal. " That rather beats Corey Hill, doesn't it? " 

" I thought so when I took it," said the Major. " It beats all 
the rides I ever took. Last August a party of two came over 
the road with the division superintendent, and he treated us to 
the luxury of a ride through the caiion on what they call a trolley, 
which is a large hand-car provided with seats. I needn't under- 

269 



take to tell you how I enjoyed it, you can better imagine that. 
We stopped at that camp where we saw the men making wall, 
and there we saw some pheasants. The road master, who joined 
us there, shot one, and we had a game dinner." 

" Is there much game about here?" asked the Captain. 

" Ves, all along the line from Cardenas to Tampico. There 
are in this section many small and a few large beasts ; among 
the latter the deer, the mountain lion, the tiger, the jaguar, the 
wolf, and the bear, among the former the fox, the wildcat, the 
rabbit and squirrel. Birds are plenty ; along the rivers and 
lagoons below here are thousands of wild ducks and wild geese 
and other water fowl ; quail and partridge abound in the interior, 
and in the mountains pheasants are plentier than blackberries. 
I have no fancy for hunting, but from all I can learn, after 
careful inquiry, I think that the country between Cardenas and 
Tamjjico offers as much to the sportsman as any equal area 
on the continent." 

" Pheasants ! " exclaimed the Corporal. " I think it is wicked 
to shoot pheasants, they are so confiding and innocent." 

"I think so too," said the Captain; "and I should think it 
would be almost wicked to kill anything that is harmless in this 
sunny, beautiful climate, where everything that walks or flies 
seems to enjoy life so much. In a cold country there may be an 
excuse for the cruelty of killing, but here there is none what- 
ever." 

"That is about my own idea, boys," said the Major; "but if 
men will hunt, this is a good place for them. It is probable that 
there was much more large game in this region in ancient times, 
for this coast country was once more thickly populated than 
now. This we know by the statements of explorers, and by the 
ruins and remains which have been discovered in this state of 
I'amaulipas, into which we have just come since we left Choy 
Cave." 

" What ! in this section? " asked the Captain ; " ruins ! " 



J 70 



"Yes, we are not far, at this moment, from the ruins of an 
ancient city." 

" Anything Hke Tula? " asked the Corporal ; " let's go to it." 
" No, not much like Tula. There are no such remains as are 
found there. These people did not build of stone, but rather of 
wood and reeds, so their houses perished with them, while those 
at Tula could neither be removed nor destroyed. Probably it is 
not Toltec, but almost certainly these are not Aztec ruins. Noth- 
ing Aztec is found near the coast. It is more probable that the 
people who lived here were a part of the Maya race, which left 
such remarkable evidences of their superior civihzation in Yuca- 
tan. But really nothing is known about the matter. Here are 




some curious remains of a strange race, and that is all we know. 
Here is a moated platform which was, perhaps, the site of a 
temple and a sculptured column of stone. Beyond are scores and 
perhaps hundreds of flat-topped hillocks with embankments pro- 
tected by slabs. From one of these mounds small figures and 
articles of pottery have been obtained." 

A little farther on we come to Tamos, which is only eight 
miles from Tampico ; here are the shops and other buildings of 



271 



the operating department. They were established here because 
of the convenience of the place, it being on the river, and acces- 
sible by steamer. Here you see the PAnuco, one of the largest 
rivers of Mexico, and a little way beyond this station we cross 
another large river, the Taniesi, which empties into the Panuco 
just below the bridge. 

" How agreeable to the eye these rivers appear in a country 
which is so largely without water ! " said the Captain. 

"There are many more streams in Mexico than are seen 
by the traveller by rail. Here, for instance, we see these 
streams for the first time, Vxit we have been near one of them 
or its tributaries almost all the way from San Luis Potosi. 
Vou will doubtless be surprised to hear that this river Panuco 
rises in the foot-hills lying west of the city of Mexico. A chip 
thrown into the little brook called Agua Nueva, flowing down 
the western rim of the Valley of Mexico, would, if it did not 
get stranded on the way, float through the great cut of Nochis- 
tongo, under the bridge at Tula, and past Tamos and Tampico 
into the (iulf of Mexico. Passing through six states, that little 
bark would have a voyage of over four hundred miles, and find 
itself here eight thousand feet lower than when it started. Vou 
will see by this statement that this river Panuco drains an im- 
mense area of territory. It is the outlet of a watershed forty- 
five thousand square miles in extent. Boats drawing only eight 
or nine feet of water can ascend the PAnuco eighty miles, 
and smaller craft can go up another eighty or one hundred 
miles." 

" .And at high tide I suppose much larger boats could go up," 
said the Captain. 

" No ; there isn't tide enough to be of much service in that 
•way. If a boat were aground and only needed a little more 
water to float her, the tide would help her of course ; but there .is 
an average tide here of only fourteen inches, and there is only 
one high tide in twenty- four hours." 

272 



" Why ! how is that ; I never heard of such a thing. Every 
place 1 know of on the seashore has two tides a day," said the 
Captain. 

" It is different here. This gulf is something of a little sea by 
itself, and seems to do business largely on its own account. It 
has little connection with any other house, as the advertisers say. 
Look on a map and you will see that Cuba almost shuts off the 
gulf from the Atlantic at Florida, and from the Caribbean Sea at 
Yucatan. By reason of this peculiar relation to the ocean, the 
gulf has rather odd tidal habits. If it weren't different from the 
rest of creation in its habits, it wouldn't be the Gulf of Mexico, 
hence only one tide a day, and hence also the numerous bars at 
the mouths of the rivers which empty into the gulf." 

"This river seems to be a large one," said the Captain. 

" It is large for Mexico. At Tampico it is one thousand and 
eight hundred feet wide, and for several miles above here it has 
a channel eight hundred feet wide and twenty-five to thirty feet 
deep. The Tamesi, which enters the Panuco here, is a large 
river too ; it seems as if such streams ought to be made of use 
to the country." 

"Well, aren't they of use?" asked the Corporal. 

" They haven't been worth much yet, but it is proposed to 
give them a chance to see what they can do. That bar at the 
mouth of the Panuco has hindered commerce here, but when it 
is opened so that large ships can come to the wharves, things 
will be different." 

Tampico is situated on the river Panuco, six or seven miles 
from the gulf. Part of the town lies but little above the lagoons 
which seem to surround it ; but the better part occupies higher 
ground, from thirty to sixty feet above the river. It is a pretty 
city ,; it may be said to be composite in its architecture and 
cosmopolitan in its population. 

Of course it is Mexican, but only partly so. Here you see 
pitched roofs, and verandas outside, or on the street side, of the 

273 



houses. The everlasting adobe is not the only material used in 
construction ; wood, stone, or iron takes its place in many build- 
ings. It is said to be against the law to paint any wall white in 
Tampico, and one would think that the city fathers required 
every householder to keep his place neat and bright, as they com- 
pel landlords to do in San Luis Fotosi. 




bird's-eye view of tampico and VICIMTV'. 



1. — Coast Range of Hills. 

2. — Jetties. 

3. — Lighthouse and Jetty Buildings at 

La Barra. 

4. — Mexican Central Railway Docks at 

Dona Cecilia. 

5. — Entrance to Lagoons at Tuxpan. 

6. — Monterey and Mexican Gulf Rail- 
road Wharves. 

7. — Shipyard. 

8. 9, 10. — River Front of Tampico. 
II. — Laguna del Carpintero. 



15 



Bayou from Tamesi River. 

Pa'nuco River. 

Mexican Central Railway Docks at 

Tampico. 
Mouth of the Bayou leading into 
the Panuco River. 
16. — Tamesi River. 
17. — Lagunas. 
18. — Pueblo V'iejo. 

19. — Chain of Lakes and Rivers leading 
to Tuxpan. 



Tampico is a tinted town, barring the white ; the people color 
their houses pink or green or blue or cream or other color as 
they please. The combination of hues suits the visitor also, gen- 
erally speaking, although there be spots that amuse some and 



274 



torture others. The population numbers about six thousand, but 
there does not appear to be among them the usual proportion of 
the very poor. No one need starve in Tampico ; if he can't find 
work, he can go and catch fish. He is sure of something to eat. 
Moreover, wages are higher in Tampico than in most places in 
Mexico, for many of the men had rather fish than work, and will 
not work unless they can get fair wages for their labor ; but there 
seems to be plenty of work to do. 

"What a charming plaza they have here ! " said the Corporal. 

" Yes, its charm is in its shade. I suppose this is the shadiest 
public park in Mexico; but you see you can't have flowers too. 
We can get flower views from the street, however. Look at the 
verandas ; see the plants, and flowers, and vines, almost as rich 
a display as we had at the Cathedral cave, and more color than 
we had there. It seems as if the city fathers must require every 
lady to decorate her house front. What charming pictures these 
veranda gardens make ! " 

The authorities look after the health as well as the beauty of 
the city. They employ a great number of scavengers, who work 
for nothing. These not only receive no pay, but " find " them- 
selves. They are the flocks of ravens which, in consideration of 
service, are accorded " a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness " anywhere and everywhere in the city. 

" Well, boys, now we shall have a trip down to the gulf, for the 
commodore of the Mexican Central Navy has invited us to go 
with him on the ' Orinda' down to the bar. We shall have a 
fine chance to see the jetties, and to get acquainted with His 
Majesty the Gulf. You'll find the Commodore to be the best 
fellow you ever sailed the sea with. He will make you feel that 
you are conferring a favor on him by making a trip with him." 

The sail down the river is delightful. It gives one a fine view 
of the city and a good idea of the surrounding country. The 
town appears to have a considerable elevation, and with its 
straight streets, its variegated houses, its sloping roofs and 

275 



church towers, presents a pretty view from the river. The 
breeze which one encounters, although sHght, makes a welcome 
contrast to the close, stilling air of the town in summer. The 
water front is a notable feature of the " view of Tampico." 
Here are wharves, and not moles as at Vera Cruz. Here vessels, 
ranging from schooners to ocean steamers, are discharging and 
receiving cargo without the intervention of lighters. Ship and 
rail come together at Tampico, which is now a port, a veritable 
harbor. It can no longer be said truthfully that " on the whole 
gulf coast there is no good harbor easy of access, or any 
sheltered anchorage." The jetty work has already changed all 
that ; a fact of immense importance, not only to the whole Re- 
public of Mexico, but also to every nation in the world engaged in 
foreign commerce. On the northern bank of the river, in and 
below the city, one sees the railroad stations, their warehouses 
and wharves ; farther down, at La Barra, the administration and 
other houses pertaining to the jetty company, and last of all, on 
the sandy shore of the gulf, the government lighthouse. 

On the other side of the river, in the state of Vera Cruz, 
directly opposite Tampico and facing a large lagima, is Pueblo 
Viejo, or Old Town, a neighbor now, but perhaps the ancestor 
of the new city. It may some day catch the spirit of the century 
and become an important feature in the work of development. 
Below this is a shipyard, but the Panuco does not yet rival the 
Kennebec or the Clyde in the matter of shipbuilding. The 
shore on the Vera Cruz side is generally low and marshy. Four 
miles below Tampico we come to the entrance of the canal by 
which small vessels may pass to lagunas and streams extending 
down the coast to Tuxpan. Below this canal the shore becomes 
bolfler, and on the elevated ground in this vicinity we may 
behold " Tampico Highlands," or a seaside residence j)lace 
under some other attractive name. 

" Here is the gulf," exclaimed the Corporal, as the boat 
began to heave. " Don't you feel it?" 

276 



" Yes, here it is," said the Commodore, " and it is a little 
rough to-day, but we'll go out over the bar just the same." 

"And these are the jetties," remarked the Captain in a tone 
that indicated disappointment ; " they don't seem very impres- 
sive." 

"They are nothing but walls," added the Corporal. "That 
isn't much of a show, I'm sure." 

"True," said the Commodore, "they don't show very much, 
but they are for business, and not for show. They are not in- 
tended to impress visitors ; their purpose is to repress the Gulf 
of Mexico, or at least the rushing, pushing part of it called the 
Gulf Stream, and its rampageous partner called the 'Norther.'" 

"Well, Major, what is a jetty?" asked the Captain ; "is it only 
a wall?" 

"No, it is not ^ only a wall' ; not every wall is a jetty, is it? 
Suppose we say it is a projected wall ; literally the word means 
a projection, something thrown forward." 

" I see ; we say ' projectile ' in speaking of things thrown out 
by a gun or a cannon, and we speak of a jet of water or of 
steam." 

" Exactly, and jetties are structures thrown out into the sea to 
arrest the action of the ocean current which prevents a free 
discharge of the river into deep water ; they do not stop the 
current, of course, but they compel it to keep off farther from 
the shore line, and thus give the river current a chance to reach 
deep water." 

" Has the work here been a success? " asked the Captain. 

" I should say it has been a big success," answered the Com- 
modore ; " we had only six to eight feet of water on the bar when 
the work was begun ; now we have eighteen feet, and soon we 
shall have twenty-four feet, and that is all we want for the largest 
steamers. There is no doubt about our success. Notice now 
how jetties are constructed. Piles are driven ; a trestle and track 
are laid on them about twelve feet above the water ; material is 



277 



brought on cars just over the spot where it is required, and then 
droj)ped. On a timber framework bundles of brush are fastened 
in layers lengthwise and crosswise, making a mattress about 
ten feet wide and six feet thick. This mattress is loaded with 
rock, and sunk ; larger stones are then thrown 
upon it to hold it down. A pyramid of 
mattresses is built up ; the 
lowest layer is, say, sixty 
feet in width, the next fifty 




feet, and so on, to the top. Small stones are dumped upon the 
slope, and these, together with the drifting sand, which the sea 
kindly contributes, make a smooth-faced solid wall which the 
waves may slide up, but cannot lift or move." 

" How many tons of rock did we estimate had been brought 
to the sea?" asked the Major. 

" Something more than half a million tons," answered the 
Captain. " And here we can see only the tops of two walls 
made by that enormous quantity of rock ! How little shows ! 
but weight and work have made a safe harbor." 

" How long are these walls?" asked the Corporal. 

" Seven thousand feet each, and one thousand feet apart," 
answered the Commodore. 

"Are the jetties completed?" asked the Captain. 

"Nearly; the work of 'crowning' is not done yet, but the 
walls will nc^t be extended farther unless we find that the river 



278 



needs still more assistance to reach deep water with its load. 
This bar must go, and work will be continued until it does go. 
The jetties now reach into twenty-two feet of water, but if 
necessary they will be pushed out another thousand feet." 

"What is the bar made of, Commodore?" asked one of the 
boys. 

" A little of everything, — sand and shells, old schooners and 
steamers." 

" Steamers ! what do you mean? " 

"Just what I say. We've fished up parts of two or three 
vessels. You can see the old iron and brass at the dock in 
Tampico. I suppose they got aground here, and a norther came 
along and knocked them to pieces. This Gulf makes nasty 
navigation when he is mad, but let him rage all he wants to, 
ships can get out of his clutches and find safe shelter in the 
Panuco ; the river will beat the gulf after this year." 

" They have had a long fight of it," said the Major. 

" The Gulf is an old salt, and didn't like having fresh water 
poured into him, I think ; but he's taking kindly to it now, and 
I guess the old chap will behave himself for the good of his 
country." 

" Shake hands. Commodore ; I am glad to hear you say 
' guess,' " said the Major ; " that's downright Yankee ; it makes 
me feel at home." 

" Guess is good enough for me," said the man of Cape Cod. 
^' I don't have any ' fawncy ' or ' reckon ' or ' allow ' in my dic- 
tionary. Well, I guess we'd better go ashore ; we want a dip in 
the gulf, don't we? " 

"A dip," exclaimed the boys, "we want a swim." 

" All right, but don't swim out too far ; there are sharks in 
ihese waters, and they like white boys." 

Landing at La Barra, the party hastened to the beach, and 
soon in the surf they forgot for half an hour all about sharks, 
jetties, cations, cities, caves, and ruins ; they remembered only 

279 



the sea. On the way back to the " Orinda," they stopped at 
the company's administration building, where, on the broad 
veranda, they enjoyed the sea breeze for a while, and in the 

i'H)ms of the engi- 
neers looked over 
some of the maps 
and drawings of the 
jetty work. 

" I hope we shall 
have a model of the 
jetties at the Colum- 
bian Fair," said the 
Commodore ; " few 
people know any- 
thing about jetties." 
" Without doubt a 
nuxlel of this work 
w'Hild be an inter- 
L>ting thing." said 
the Major ; " I saw a 
model of the Eads 
Mississippi jetties at 
the exposition in 
N e w O r 1 e a n s J it 
was very attractive 
because of its nov- 
elty, and of course it 
was an educator on 
the whole subject of harbor improvemen:. The importance of 
this enterprise to Mexico, as you say, cannot be over-estimated." 
Returning to the "Orinda," a quick trip was made to the city. 
On the way u]) the river the Commodore told the party all about 
the difficulties which had to be overcome in the progress of the 
construction of the jetties and in the opening of the channel ; he 




TAMllCO LlUIlTHOlSi:. 



'.So 



enlarged on the beauties of the " back country " about Tampico, 
and on the general features of the region which are attracting the 
attention of both Mexican and American capitaUsts. He said 
that there is a large section of the Republic easily accessible now 
from Tampico which offers the greatest opportunities for devel- 
opment and rich results, including coffee lands, sugar lands, 
tobacco lands, and territory peculiarly adapted to the cultivation 
of the valuable products of a tropical climate. The Huesteca 
country (mentioned in the records of Americus Vespucius) was 
described, and the party came near being persuaded into taking 
a trip through that remarkable region by way of boat to the head 
of navigation on the Panuco, and then by burro to the El Dorado. 
They also wished to go up the Tamesi and investigate the won- 
derful deposits of asphaltum said to be found there ; but when it 
was stated that a syndicate had obtained control of them, our 
sentimental travellers gave up all thoughts of trying to pre-empt 
land of any kind in Mexico. 

" Glad to hear that there is so much wealth in store here for 
enterprising Americans," said the Major ; " the railroad will no 
doubt develop all this region, which has so long lain dormant, 
into a productive country." 

"It is bound to do it," replied the Commodore. "Capital is 
already coming in, and considerable land has been taken up. 
Well, here we are at the wharf. Had a good time, boys? " 

" Splendid," replied both, " and we are indebted to you for it. 
We shall never forget this trip." 

The evening was spent on the plaza chiefly in emptying 
schooners of lemonade, and talking about the new era that 
has dawned upon Mexico. To the delight of the boys, a fishing 
excursion was arranged for next day. 

" The red snapper is a mighty fine fish," said the Commodore ; 
" and then there is the tarpon, he's big game." 

"Tarpon!" exclaimed the boys. "Are there tarpon here? 
■Out in the srulf? " 



aSi 



" Right here in the Panuco. Vou are in a gamy country 
when you are in Tanipico. Really you oughtn't to go away till 
you've caught a tarpon." 

" Oh, we can't leave, Major, till we've caught a tarpon or have 
seen you or the Commodore catch one. We can stay over, can't 
we?" 

" We can stay a clay or two if you wish to, but I am not sure 
we can stay till we catch a silver king. Tarpon are like deer ; 
you hear a good deal about them, but seldom see them." 

"Co with me, however, and I'll show you some good snapper 
fishing, or I'm no fisherman." 

" Of course I can't resist such a temptation, Commodore. 
I surrender to overpowering numbers," said the Major. 

Great expectations were realized in the visit to the fishing 
banks just south of the jetties. There was plenty of fish and 
plenty of fun, and besides there was anticipation. Snappers! 
the bite, the fight, the fish — the big beauties. Each boy was 
catching snappers all the way back to 'J amjnco and saying nothing 
about it. Anticipation was all they had with regard to tarpon ; 
for when the Commodore went to see about his boat, he found 
that some one had borrowed the sail without his permission, 
and no other suitable craft could be procured for the occasion. 

The afternoon was filled with delightful episodes, under the 
guidance of the Commodore. The party took a ride to some 
interesting places, and were surprised to find such pleasant 
nooks in a region which appeared from the^ river to be so unin- 
viting. Another evening on the plaza, enlivened by music, 
closed the visit to Tampico. The party, being under necessity 
of rising early to take the train back to .Aguas Calientes, sought 
the shelter of the mosquito netting correspondingly early. 

The return trip to the main line is, if possible, more charming 
than that to the coast; as nearly all the fine scenery of the divis- 
ion is encountered between Tampico and Cardenas. On the 
trip eastward the passenger has a view of the valley of Canoas 

282 



and of the canon of Tamasopo by the morning light ; returning 
he sees them by. the afternoon hght. He gets a better idea of 
the marvellous engineering on the mountain as he ascends it 
seated on the rear platform of the Pullman, and sees himself 
soaring higher and higher above the plain and valley below. If 
1 could take a trip but one 
way over this or any other 
famous mountain line, I 
would choose to make the 
ascent rather than the de- 
scent ; one has thus a con- 
stant series of dissolving 
views before him and an 
endless panorama of mag- 
nificent proportions. 

Rascon is reached at 
dinner-time. Soon after 
the train is at the foot of 
the mountain, and, from 
two o'clock until five, we 
are passing through the 
magnificent scenery of 
Tamasopo canon. The 
great plain, with its occa- 
sional palms and frequent 
fields of cane, is before us 
for an hour or more as we 
rise, and vanishes only as 
we turn round Prospect 
Point to skirt the moun- 
tain above the gorge. In another hour we come to the home ol 
the cypress and the pine, and stop for a moment at cozy Canoas. 
Running round the rim of the beautiful valley of La Labor for 
anotner half-hour, we pass out of it through a cut, ar.d at supper- 




283 



time reach Cardenas. We have seen enough for one day ; we 
are glad to have night come and shut out the common world, 
while we are under the enchantment of beauty. At noon of the 
next day we arrive at Aguas Calientes, having passed once over 
the whole Mexican Central Railway line, and twice over a part 
of it. We complete the circuit now by our journey northward 
and homeward. 

The journey to the border was even more entertaining to the 
boys, in some ways, than their trip southward, and, although not 
so novel, was never uninteresting; everything in Mexico is 
picturesque, and a constant delight to the intelligent traveller. 

" Have you thought," asked the Major as they were approach- 
ing the Rio Grande, " what a large part of this country you have 
seen on this trip? You have seen nearly all the large towns, 
and have passed through eighteen of the tAventy-nine political 
divisions of the Republic. You have sailed round Mexico's 
largest lake, you have seen its longest river, its greatest cataract, 
and its loftiest mountains. You have visited the gulf, and have 
been within two hundred miles of the Pacific. All this and 
much more you have reached by the Mexican Central Railway." 

" Really I hadn't thought we had seen such a large part of 
the whole country." 

" Mexico is only about one thousand seven hundred miles 
long, and about seven hundred miles wide. This road is one 
thousand two hundred and twenty-five miles in length north and 
south, and about six hundred miles in length east and west. 
So you see, it practically serves the whole of Mexico." 

" Father will be a little surprised, I think, when we report how 
much we have explored the country," said the Captain. 

" And more surprised," added the Corporal, " when we tell 
him that we have had a much cooler summer vacation in Mexico 
than he has had at Manchester-by-the-Sea." 

"And still more surprised," added the Major, "when I show 
him what your excursion has cost." 

2 84 



" A large bill I am afraid, for we have been everywhere and 
have had everything that we needed, and a great deal that we 
didn't need," said the Captain. 

" No, not a large bill ; he will be surprised at its small amount. 
Mexico is the cheapest country in the world to travel in, if the 
traveller is content to accept such entertainment as the best 
hotels in the country afford." 

" But railroad fares are high, aren't they? " 

" No, the fare from El Paso to the city of Mexico and return is 
only fifty dollars ; where can you travel in the United States two 
thousand four hundred and fifty miles for that sum? The fare 
from Chicago to the city of Mexico and return, fifty-seven hun- 
dred miles, is eighty-eight dollars and sixty cents. Nowhere else 
in the world can you make so long a journey in first-class style 
for that amount of money. To the city of Mexico and return 
from New York or Boston, seventy-eight hundred miles, costs 
only about one hundred and thirty-five dollars." 

"Those figures are certainly small ones for so long a journey," 
said the Captain ; " but people generally think of Mexico as a 
far-away country, and of the trip as very expensive. But really, 
San Francisco is farther from Boston than the city of Mexico is." 

" Not only is the railroad fare low," added the Major, "but 
the cost of living in Mexico is small, very small indeed, to a 
tourist, as his bills are payable in Mexican money, and exchange is 
largely in his favor." 

" Oh, yes, taking that into account," said the Captain, " travel 
in Mexico costs less than in any other country in the world." 

" This is an interesting and an important fact. Americans, 
who are great travellers, will doubtless be glad to hear it, and if 
they make the excursion they will find our statements correct." 



Information as to rates, and a great deal of other valuable in- 
formation concerning a trip to Mexico, may be obtained by 

285 



addressing any of these oflficials of the Mexican Central Raihvay : 

K. A. White, Gen. Pass. Agt., City of Mexico, Mexico. 

M. H. King, Asst. Gen. Frt. and Pass. Agt., 236 South Clark St., 

Chicago, 111. 
j. J. Ai.LKN, Eastern Agt., 261 Broadway, New York. 
C. JO. Miner, Gen. Trav. Agt., 105 No. Broadway, St. Louis, Mo. 
T. R. Ryan, Commercial Agt., 105 No. Broadway, St. I^uis, Mo. 

\\'hoever follows the directions which these gentlemen will 
cheerfully give, on request, will see all that is mentioned or 
hinted at in the foregoing pages, and much more besides, .^s we 
stated in our cautionary preface, our purpose has been to outline 
and to briefly sketch an itinerary which cannot fail to interest 
and entertain any intelligent man, woman, or child. We close 
our pleasant task with the hope that many who have given their 
time to the reading of these imperfect notes of travel will give 
themselves the pleasure of a trip to Mexico. Si, SeTwr. 




286 



INDEX. 



Abra de Caballeros . 
Academy, Military 
Academy, San Carlos 
Aduana 'Custom House) . 
Agents of Mexican Central 
Aguadores .... 
Aguas Calientes . 
Aguila, Marquez de la 
Ahuehuete .... 
Augustin, San . 
Ahuitzotl, Statue ol . 
Alameda . - . .35 
Aldama .... 
Alh6ndiga de Granaditas . 
Allende .... 
Altarof the Kings 
Altitudes . . 15, 109, 
Alvarado .... 
Amecameca 
Americus Vespucius . 
Anahuac .... 
Angel, San .... 
Angelo, Michael, of Mexico 
Angels, Fruit of the . 
Anita, Santa 

Antiquities .... 
Aqueducts .... 
Arbol de la Noche Triste . 
Arcades (Portales) 
Army of Mexico. 
Artesian Wells . 
Art Gallery 

Atequiza .... 
Athens of America 
Atzcapatzalco 
Augustin I., Emperor 
Avenida Juarez . 
Axayacatl, Statue oi . 



PAGE 

. 261 
. 198 

• 175 
. 20, 23, 25 

. 285 

102, 238, 247 

. 70 

102 

. 2o5 

• 95 
140 

< 77. 135. 156 

• 153, 240 

. 236 

• 153, 240 

• 153 
119, 215, 2.18 



177, 102 
. 242 
. 119 

170, Z04 



. 212 

. 163, 165 

153. 174. 208 

35, loi, 202 

• 159 

35, 151 

199 

202 

175 
227 



130 
131, 136 
. 140 



PAGE 

Ayotla, Olive Trees of . . . 182 

Aztec Antiquities . . 153, 174, 208 

" Celebrations . 142, 168, 171, 184 

" Palaces 149 

" Pericles 208 

" Race 120 



Back Burdens . 


60, 


122 


Bajio, The . 




Q2 


Balconj' Scene 




138 


Banner of Cortes 




175 


" " Hidalgo 




175 


Baptists in Mexico . 




j6i 


Barranca del Infernillo 




213 


" de Rio Lerma . 




233 


" " Encarnacion 




81 


Baths at Aguas Calientes 


73 


, 77 


" " City of Mexico . 




143 


Beans, Mexican 


89 


220 


Bear, Playing the 


76. 


138 


Bells, Clanging . 


74. 


100 


Black Birds of Tampico . 




27s 


Blowing the Kiss 




136 


Boca del Abra . 




264 


Bolson de Mapimi 




42 


Bones .... 


65. 


338 


Bridge at Lagos 




82 


" " Tula 




HI 


" " Encarnacion 




81 


Brigida, Santa . 




133 


Bucareli, Viceroy 




Z02 


Buena Vista Station . 




122 


Bufa, Cerro de la 




56 


Bull Fights 




204 


Burdens, Bearing 


60, 


122 


Burros .... 


>7. 54. 


217 


Buzzards (Zopilotes) . 




212 



287 



o. 

DiJcls of Chapultcpcc 
Calcra 

Calendar Stone . 
Callc de Ids Mucrtos . 
" " San Francisco 
Calzadas 
Camacho 

Campanas, Cerro de las 
Canal al Aguas Calientcs 
" de Nochistongo 
" " Tcquizquiac 
" " la Viga 
Cancer, Tropic of 
Candy Station . 
Caniias 

Canoas Valley . 
Cardenas . 
Cargadorcs 
Carlotta, Empress 
Casas, Barlolom^ de 
Casas Grandes . 
Castillo, El 
Castle of Chapultepec 
Cathedral Cave . 
Cathedral of Chihiiahi 
" " Guadalaji 

" " Mexico 

" Pucbla 
" " San Luis Pot 

" " Zacatecas 

Causeways 
Cave at Amecameca 
" " Chapultepec 
" Cathedral . 
" Choy 
" La Ventana 
Cazadero, Plain of 
Cclaya.City of . 
Cemeteries (Panteons) 65, 159 
Century Plant . 
Cerro de las Campanas 

" " la Estrclla 
Chaico, Lake 
Chapala, Lake . 

" Town of 
Chapultepec 
Charles IV., Statue ol 
City of Mexico 



9^ 



SO 
«S3 
310 

M5 

207 
46 

103 
7'. 78 

"S 
16, 210 

162 
46 
95 
46 

254 
253 

.60, 122 
•04. 143 

• 17s 
III 

. 228 

200 

. 365 

• 34 
. 230 

149. 152 
209 

• 249 

■ 59 
•59. '8j 

. 184 
. 198 
. 265 
. 368 
267 
. 109 

• 95 
304, 337 

• "3 

• «03 
166, 205 
118, 173 
320, 223 

. 325 

■ >97 

«39. M7 
250 



Chicalote . 

Chichimccs 

Chihuahua, City of 
" State of 

Chinampas 

Chirimoya . 

Cholula 

Choy Cave 

Church, Protestant 

" Roman Catholic 
" Santa Brigida 
" San Diego . 
" Santo Domingo 
" San Francisco 
" San Hipolito 
" La Profcsa 

Churubusco 

Ciudad, La 

Clothing 

Coaches 

Coatepec 

Coffee Grove 

Cologne Cathedral 

Colors, Mexican 

Columbus Monument 

Comonfort, President 

Convent of Santa Clara 

Cordoba 

Corn Crop 

Cortes, Hernando 
" Fleet 

Costume of the Natives 

Cotton Region 

Courting, Mexican 

Coyoacan . 

Cross of Querrftaro 

Cuauhtemoctzin, Home of 
" Statute of 

" Sketch of 

Curalii, Mexican 

Custom House . 

Cypress Trees 



David and Goliath 
Dead, Street of the . 
Delicias, Las 
Diaz, President Porfirio 



PACE 

68 

III, 119 

• 31 

»7. 42 

. 165 



ai2 



. 309 
. a68 
. 161 
. 161 

• 133 
'55. 157 

• »55 

• 132 
. 158 

• 133 

• 204 
19 

• 7.33 

• "3 
an 

. 258 

• 59 
18. 129 

■ M> 
133, 160 
100 
ata 
320 
140, 158, 305 
208, 310 

• 33 

• 43 
. .38 

• 204 

99 
. 167 

• 141 
. 205 
. 98 

30, a3, 35 
197, 3o6 



98 
aio 

38 

30I 



(88 





PAGE 


Diego, Juan, Indian . 


. igo 


Diego, San, Cliurch of 


• 157 


Dishes, Washing the . 


■ 9° 


Dog, Chihuahua 


• 35 


Dolores, Panteon de . 


. 204 


Drainage .... 


. 116 


Dulces, Mexican 


• 95 


Durai.go .... 


42, 44 



Eagle Pass Route 


• 44 


Eastern Features 


56, 62 


Education . 


. 156 


El Abra .... 


. 262 


El Castillo .... 


. 228 


El Paso .... 


10, 15 


El Salto del Abra 


. 261 


Emperor Augustin I. 


• 130 


Empire of Maximilian 


. 104 


Encarnacion 


. 81 


Escalon .... 


• 42 


Esperanza .... 


. Z12 


Eulalia, Santa, Mine . 


• 34 


Evangelista, The 


• 15s 


Expenses of Trip 


. 284 


Excursion Rates 


. 285 



F. 

Fair God, A 
Fairs in Mexico 
Falls of El Abra 

" " Juanacatlan 
Fares, Railway 
Feast Days 
Fertility of Lands 
Festivals, National 
Feudal System . 
Flag, Mexican . 
Floating Islands 
Florido, Valley of the 
Flower Market . 
Foreigners in Mexico 
Fountain at Zacatecas 
Fourth of July . 
Francisco, San, Chihuahua 

" " Mexico 

Fresas 
French 



143, 146 

• 77 
. 261 
. 228 
. 28s 

77. 184 
3, 92, 165 

• 193 

• 37 

18, 120 
165, 170 
40 

154 
120 
62 
240 

34 
132 

93 
104 



Fresnillo 
Frijoles 
Funeral Cars 



PAGE 

• 5° 
. 89 
. 14S 



Gallego 
Game 

Gante, Padre Pedro de 
Garden of San Marcos 
Gardens, Floating 
Garden, Zoological 
Garitas 
Glorietas 
God, A Fair 
Gondolas . 
Gonzales, Gen. 
Grades 

Grito de Dolores 
Guadalajara 
Guadalupe, Zacateca- 
" Shrine of 

Guanajuato 
Guatimotzin (see Cuauhtemoclz 
Guerrero, Vicente, President 
Gulf of Mexico . 
Gutierrez .... 



. 28 
242, 270 

• 132 

74. 77 
165, 170 

. 207 
122, 164 

. 140 

143, 146 

162 

. 201 
52, 252 

. 240 

. 229 

■ 63 

1S9, 193 

89, 234 

in) . 141 

159 
272 
46 



Hacienda .... 
" of Atequiza 
" Mescal 
" Miiller 
" Peotillos 
Harbors of Mexico . 
Hercules Mill . 
Hidalgo . 34, 103, 142, 153, 

Hill of the Star . . . 166, 
Hipolito, San .... 

Horcasitas 

Horatii 

Hospicio of Guadalajara . 
Hospitals of Mexican Central Ry. 
Hotel Iturbide .... 

" del Jardin .... 

" Plaza .... 

" Zacatecano 
Huitzilopochtlih Idol 
Hunt, The Great 



29.37 
. 227 

■ 243 
29. 36 
. 250 
. 276 

. lOI 

17s, 240 

169, 205 

. 158 

■ 38 



• 231 
3?. 71 
. 128 

• 133 

• 73 

• S7 

• 174 
109 



289 



I. 

PAGE 

Idol, Aztec 174 

Images, Sacred . 91, 100, 184, 189 

Independence Day . • 77> 240 

Inquisition .... 154, 157 

International Railway ... 44 
Intcroccanic Railway 208, 211 

Intervention, French . 104 

Inundations .... 83, 116 
Irapuato ..... 93, 320 
Irish, Spanish Viceroy ... 29 

Irrigation 8>. 93 

Iturbide, Emperor i3g, 133, 184, 194 

" Hotel 128 

Ixtacaico 163, 165 

Ixtaccihuatt 179 

Ixtapalapa 166 

J. 



Jalapa 




210 


Jalisco 




330 


Jardin Hotel 




>.ia 


Jetties at Tatnpico 




277 


Jimenez 


*o, >53. 


240 


Jimuico 




4:; 


Josrf, San, Church of 




III 


Juanacatlan, Falls of 


220 


228 


Juan del Rio, San 




109 


Juarez, Benito, President 


'9. '04 


142 


" City 




'9 


" Tomb of 




160 



Kings, Altar of the 
Kiss, Blowing the 



»53 
136 



La Barca 

La Barra 

La Casteiiada 

Lagos 

Laguna 

La Joya 

Lake Chaico 
" Chapala 
" Paizcuaro . 
" Pcvcmaldillo 



. 320 

• 379 
304 

83 

»9. 43 
a'3. 253 
iiS, 173 

330, 333 
. 3o8 

68 







PAGE 


Lake Texcoco . 




119 


" Xochimiico 






163 


" Zumpango 






116 


Lands, Fertility of 




28, 38, 89, 


i6s 


Landscape Colors 






45 


Language, Spanish 




5 


120 


Languages, Other 






120 


La Palma . 






32S 


La Piedad . 






220 


La Profesa . 






«33 


Las Casas, Bartulume 


dc 




.76 


Las Vegas . 






10 


Laundry, Mexican 






80 


Leather Work . 






84 


Leg of Saint Simon 






.84 


Legends 




82, 98, 158, 


'7« 


Lefia . 






109 


Leon . 






8s 


Lerdo 






43 


" President 




201, 


304 


l.erma, Rio 






336 


Library, National 






•33 


" Railroad Men's 




124 


Life of Common People 




60 


Ix)Comotive, The largest 




360 


Lottery 


19 


»37 


Love-making 






133 



Maguey, The . 


"3.243 


Maize (Corn) . 


. . 89 


Maltrata . 


. 313 


Mantilla 


. . . 84 


Manufactures 


84, 8s, loi 


Mapimi, Bolson de 


• 42 


Marf^l 


• 234 


Market in General . 


■ • 65 


" Flower . 


• 154 


" San Juan 


• «34 


Martyrs, Ch.ipcl of 


. . .58 


Massachusetts of Mexico 


• 97 


Maximilian 


103. 17s 


Meals • 4, 35, 3 


2, 40, SI, 70, 88 


Medina 


ai6 


Mcjia, Gen. 


103, 161 


Memorial to Cadets . 


• >99 


Mendoza, Viceroy 


109 


Mescal 


• >'4. 243 


Mescala 


. 224 



290 









r 


ACE 


Methodists in Mexico 






161 


Metlac Caiion . 






212 


Mexicalcingo 






166 


Mexican Army . 






199 


" Railway 






212 


" Central Railway 




J 


284 


Mexico, a Summer Resort 






6 


" City of 




125 


-195 


" Federal District 






121 


" Republic of 




14. 


120 


" People of 


• 36, 


136, 


178 


Michael Angclo of Mexico 






96 


Military School 






198 


Mills . 






lOI, 


229 


Mines, Rich 






217, 


237 


Mints 








34 


Miraculous Spring 








169 


Miramon, Gen. . 






103, 


161 


M ixcoac 








204 


Moat . 




122 


158, 246 


Monte de Piedad 








150 


" Sacro 






178, 


184 


Montfzuma's Bath 








259 


Cave 








198 


" Chair 








28 


Palace 








149 


Shield 








17s 


" Tree 








206 


Monuments 




139. 


159 


199 


Monument Rock 








257 


Moon, Pyramid of 








210 


Morelos 




155 


158, 


241 


Moss, Spanish . 








207 


Mule, The . 




6, 211, 


215. 


245 


Mummies . 








238 


Museum, National 






149. 


173 



N. 



Napoleon III. 




104 


National Library 




133 


" Holiday 




240 


" Museum 


149 


173 


Palace 




149 


Native Languages 




120 


Navy 




200 


Nevada, Sierra . 


118, 


182 


Netzahualcoyotl, Prince . 




208 


Niagara of Mexico 


220, 


228 


Noche Triste 


158 


159 



Nochistongo, Canal of 
Nopal, The 
Noria, The 
Nuns, Capuchin 



PAGE 

• "5 

• 247 
, 24s 

196 



Oaxaca, City of . 


. 201 


Occupations 


. 121 


Ocotlan, Town of 


. 221 


" Shrine of 


. 210 


Offerings . 


. . i6g 


Ojo Caliente 


. 68 


Old Mexico 


. Ill 


Oldest European Article ir 


Mexico . 92 


Olive Trees of Ayotla 


. 182 


Opals 


. 106 


Orchids . 


. 207 


Oranges, Smoked 


• 253 


Organo Cactus . 


• . 83 


Oriental Features 


56, 62 


Orinda, Steamer 


• 27s 


Orizaba 


210, 213 


Orphanage, Zacatecas 


. . 64 


Otomites . 


98, 120 



Pachuca .... 


• "5. 215 


Palace, National 


• 149 


Panduro, Artists 


• 232 


Panteon de Dolores . 


. 204 


" San Fernando 


• 159 


" at Guanajuato 


• 237 


Panuco, Rio 


• 113. 272 


Parral .... 


. 40 


Parrots .... 


260, 267 


Paseo, in general 


71. 8s, IDS 


Paseo de la Reforma . 13 


4, 139. 143 


Paso del Macho . 


. 212 


Paso del Norte . 


20 


Passion Play 


i63, 184 


Patience of the People 


. 60 


Patio . . . 


21, 216 


" Process 


. 216 


Patzcuaro Lake . 


. 208 


Pawn Shops 


. 150 


Pedregal, The . . . . 


170, 206 


Penjamo .... 


. 220 


Penon Blanco . . . . 


• 244 



291 



People of the Country 36, 

Peolillos, Hacienda ol 

I'erez, Juan 

Pericles, Aztec . 

Picardias ... 

Pilgrimage to Sacro .Moiitc 

Pilot of" Chapala" . 

Plains of Mexico 

Plateau, The 

Playing the Bear 

Plaza (General) . . 19, 21, 

Plaza Mayor de la Constitucion 

" de Santo Domingo 
Plowing 

Politeness of the People 
Poncitlan . 
Pool at Aguas Calicnlcs 

" " Puente de Dios 
Popocatepetl 
Population . 
Portales 
Pottery 
Prcsas 

Presbyterians in .Mexico 
Presidents of Mexico 
Processions, Religious 
Profcsa, La, Church of 
Profile Map 
Promenades 
Prospect Point . 
Protestant Churches . 
Puebla, City of . 
Puente de Dios . 
Pulpit, Oldest . 
Pulque, Story of 
Pyramids . 



73 



PAGE 
136, 178 
250 
923 

2C8 
44 
'77 
222 

45 
6 
138 
76,85 
MS 
154 
40 
5. 136 
227 

73. 77 
259 
179 
120 
35. 151 
51,68 
81 
. 161 
. 204 

• 185 

• 133 
. 252 

76, 135 

• 257 
. 161 

2CX) 

■ 258 
. 209 

• "3 
209, 210 



Querrftaro 97 

QuetzalcoatI, God of Air . . 209 

Quicksilver ai6 

Quiet Habits of People ij6, 178 



R. 

Railway, Mexican Cenlrut , 3, 284 

Rascon 260 

Rates of Fare 285 



PAGE 

Reading Room at Station . -124 

Real del Monte 218 

Reboso 33. 84 

Reception Committee 32, 123, 222 

Keforma, Paseo de la 134, 139, 143 

Religion 161 

Reser\'oirs 239 

Restaurants . 4,23,32,40,51,70 

Rhode Island of Mexico . . 209 

Rio Grande . . • '5 

" Lerma ..... 226 

" Panuco .... 113, 272 
" Tula . .112 

Roman Catholic Church . . .161 
Rosalia, Santa ..... 39 
Ruins . Ill, 208, 210, 271 

Ruralcs, The ..... 199 



S. 



Sabino, The . . . . 


206 


Sacred Springs . . . . 


168, 198 


" Images . 91, 10 


0, 184, 189 


Sacrificial Stone 


• «74 


Sacro Monte 


178, 184 


Salamanca 


• 95 


Salinas del Pciiou Ulaiico . 


• 244 


Salt Lake .... 


• 244 


Salutations 


. '36 


San Angel 


204 


San Augustin 


VS. «53 


San Jos6 .... 


. Ill 


San Juan del Rio 


. 109 


San Luis Potosi . 


■ 247 


San Marcos Gardens . 


■74. 77 


San Pedro .... 


. 232 


Santa Cruz .... 


• 99 


Santiago and Cross . 


• 99 


Santa Rosalia 


• 39 


Schools .... 


. .56 


Seward, Secretary 


. 106 


Shield of Montezuma 


• >75 


Shrines .... 


• "77. 190 


Sierra Mojada 


• 42 


Sierra Nevada . 


118, i8a 


Silao 


88,93 


Smelting Works 


• '49 


Soledad .... 


68 


Sombrero .... 


• 95 


Smoking Habit, The . 


»7 



292 



Springs, Sacred 


168, 198 


Standard of Cortes 


• 175 


" " Hidalgo 


• 17s 


Star, Hill of the. 


166, 205 


Station at Juarez 


21 


" " Mexico 


. 122 


Stations for Meals . . 25 


, 32, 40, 50 


Statistics .... 


120, 161 


Statues .... 


139. 159 


Statuette of yourself . 


. 232 


Steamer on Lake Chapala . 


. 222 


Stone, Calendar 


• 153 


" Sacrificial 


• 174 


Strawberries the Year round 


• 93 


Straw Hats 


• 94 


Street Cars 


56, 148 


Street Scenes 


. 60 


Street, Main, of Mexico 


• 145 


Street of the Dead 


. 210 


Sulphur .... 


. 180 


Summer Resort . 


6, 284 


Sun, Pyramid of 


. 210 


Sunday in Mexico 


• 134 


Sweetmeats 


• 95 



T. 

Table Lands (see Plateau) 
Tacuba 
Tacubaya . 
Tajo de Nochistongo 
Tamasopo Canon 
Tamesi River 
Tamos 
Tampico 
Tapalo 

Tapia, Fernando de 
Tarpon 
Tenochtitlan 
Teotihuacan 
Tepeyacac (see Guadalu 
Tequila 

Tequizquiac Tunnel 
Texcoco, Lake . 
" Town . 
Tide, Gulf . 
Tilma of Juan Diego 
Tizapan 
Tlalpam 
Tlamacas . 



pe) 



. 202 
116, 203 
. 116 
• 255 
. 272 
. 271 
242, 273 



2ai 
125 
210 



. 114 
116, 210 
116, 195 
208 
272 

igo 
225 
204 
180 



Tlaxcala 

Toboggan Railroad . 

Tolsa, Work of . 

Toltccs 

Toluca 

Tomb of Juarez 

Torreon 

Tortilla 

Traditions . 

Trains 

Travel in Mexico 

Tree of the Sad Night 

Tresguerras 

Tropic of Cancer 

Tula .... 



U. 



PAGE 

159, 209 
258, 269 
133. 139 

no, 114 
208 
160 
44 



171 
26 
285 
159 
96 
46 
no, 215 



Ulmeca, The .... 


. 119 


Ulua, San Juan de . 


212 


United States and Mexico 


. 106 


United States Legation 


■ 157 


Ursula, St., Church of . 


. 238 



Valley of Mexico 




. 118 


176 


Ventana, La , . . 




267 


Vera Cruz, City of . 




212 


Vespucius, Americus 




243 


Vessels, Cortes' 


. 208 


210 


View from Chapultepec . 




207 


" Hill of the Star 


. 170 


172 


" ofMaltrata . 




214 


" " Puebla 






209 


Via Crucis . 






186 


Viga Canal 






162 


Villar 






252 


Virgin of Mexico 






190 


Volcanic Hill.'! . 






170 


Volcanoes . 






1,6 


Votos at Shrines 




169 


194 


Vultures (Zopolites) 






212 


W. 






Walls of the City 




122 


Washing Dishes 




90 


Water Carriers . 


102, 238, 


247 


Water Supply of Mexico . 


• 198, 


202 


Water Works of Chaj 


>ala . 




225 



293 





PAGB 


Y. 




Water Works of Guanajuato 


a39 




PAGB 


" " " Ocotlan . 


222 


Ysidro, San 


. 252 


" " " Qucr<taro 


lOI 


Yturbide, Emperor 


130, 241 


" " *' San Luis Potosi 


'47 


" Theatre 


. los 


" " " Zacatecas 


63 






Westminster Abbey . 


. 160 






Wheat Crop .... 89, aao 


Z. 




White House o( Mexico . 


300 






WooJ by Weight 


55 


Zacatecas .... 


■ 54 






Zaragoza, Gen. . 


160, 209 






Zapotec Indians 


120 


X. 




Zar.ipe .... 


33. 84 






Zocalo .... 


• '47 


Xochitl, The Flower of TuLt . 11 


4. >75 


Zoological Garden 


. 207 


Xochimilco, Lake 


. 163 


Zopilotes .... 


212 


Xocotopec 


225 


Zumpango, Lake 


. 116 



!94 



rrvh 




I r. ■/ 



